My Saviour
by jessiecumberbatch
Summary: A young woman living in London, named Jenny Oscars gets herself kidnapped by a gang of mysterious men. She is rescued and wakes up in the realm of Asgard, she then finds herself at the liberty of the two Odinson brothers. How will she adapt to the city of gods, and what will the two brothers think of her?
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

I awoke in a cold sweat, breathing hard. I could still feel the cold metal bite of the shackles on my wrists and ankles. I shook my head to clear it from tonight's' most recent nightmare. I looked out my window and the sky was just beginning to lighten. I sighed, 'Well, there's no point in going back to sleep now.' I thought. I lay in bed staring at the blank, white ceiling. I was getting really tired of these stupid nightmares. Ever since my parents had died about 5 months ago and I moved here, to London, by myself to try and make things easier on me and my so-called family. None of them really liked me anyway, I was always just a pest in their eyes. The farther away I was, the better, according to them. The sky was turning a violent pink and the sun had started to creep up over the horizon. I walked over to the sliding glass doors that led to my balcony, slowly opened the door and stepped out on to it. I breathed in the crisp late summer/ early autumn air and shivered. It was getting colder even though it was only July, I could feel something coming. Something big.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I watched the sun rise and wondered how it got on so peacefully. I envy the sun, so beautiful, so bright, loved by everyone. I shut the door and slid the curtains closed. I trudged sleepily into the kitchen to make myself a cuppa tea, I had never really liked coffee for some reason. If I could thank my parents for anything it was all the money they left me. I was able to afford an amazing flat in a good part of London and still have more than enough money to suit me for at least 10 years. I yawned and found some suitable clothes and stepped into the shower. Sometimes all you need in life is a hot shower... I slowly relaxed in the hot water as I closed my eyes. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 48.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I finished my shower and walked into the kitchen, with a towel wrapped around me, and poured myself a cup of tea. I savoured the taste, enjoying how it rested in my stomach. I looked up at the clock em'7:45... 7:45?! OH SHIT! I'm gonna be late for work again!'/em I raced into my room and grabbed my work t-shirt and a pair of jeans that looked clean. I slipped on my converse, picked up my car keys and ran down the stairs. I hopped into my car and sped over to the café/restaurant where I work as a waitress, The Last Centurion Restaurant and Café. I parked my car in the back lot and jogged in. I hastily tied my apron around my waist, tucked my notebook and pen into one of the pockets and walked out onto the floor. The tables were buzzing with the usual breakfast crowd. My 'friend' Melody walked passed me on her way out and said that our boss was looking for me. I sighed and thanked her. I headed over to his office fearing the worst. I knocked on the door and a gruff voice answered... I thought for a moment,em 'Wait a minute, that does NOT sound like Rory's voice.'/em I shrugged it off, em'Oh well, maybe there's new management.'/em I slowly opened the door and walked slowly into the room. I stepped into the office and a large hand with a cloth clamped over my face. I tried to fight back but the hand was too strong and I kept getting weaker. My vision started to fade as I struggled against the rough hand, then, everything went black.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I awoke with blurry vision, I blinked, trying to clear my head. I got a grip on my surroundings and realised I was in a trunk of a car. I started to panic but remembered what my dearest parents told me to never forget, "Never panic, my dear, remember that. Panic will only dull your senses and make things harder for you." I calmed my nerves and started to devise a plan of escape. That's when I noticed that my hands and feet were bound, I felt the bounds with my fingers, realising they were a coarse rope. I rearranged myself in the trunk so I was in a more comfortable position. I tried to find a sharp object in the trunk. Nothing. Of course. I sighed in temporary defeat. I felt the car slowing. The car lurched to a stop and the trunk slammed open. I was dragged roughly out of the trunk and thrown to the ground. It was night and I didn't recognise any of my surroundings, definitely in town anymore, though. Probably somewhere in the country by the smell of it. The bindings on my feet were cut and I was pulled savagely to my feet. I looked around to try to find some way of escape. There were trees surrounding us but it was too dark to judge the distance between me and them. In the direction I was being led there seemed to be a light (or a few lights) fairly close. Other than that there was only starlight to go by. I looked up at the stars and for once in a long time noticed how beautiful they were. I made a secret wish under my breath, _'Please, if there's anyone out there, help me get out of this mess alive at least.'_

As I was looking at the sky and didn't see the rock in my path. I tripped and fell hard onto the ground, cutting both my knees.

"Oi! Get up you!" I heard one of my 'guards' say. I started to get up but was yanked back to my feet by my hair.

"Ow! Hey watch it! That hurt!" I yelled. Something told me they didn't care that much. The man to my left said in a sneering tone,

"Oh, you'll be sufferin' a lot worse than that 'fore the night's out. We're just bein' gentle with ya." I shuddered, not wanting to think about what else was going to happen to me. I struggled to hold down the fear creeping up my throat. We reached the source of the light, it seemed to be some sort of abandoned farm house. The man on my right knocked on the door four times and it slowly opened. I glanced back towards the way we came and I could've sworn I saw someone else, but when I blinked they were gone. _'Just a reflection._' I thought miserably. My train of thought was broken as I was yanked forward and shoved inside the house, landing hard on my knees sending pain shooting up my legs. I heard the door close and lock behind me and I slowly raised my head. A tall, slim man stood over me. He bent down and put his hand under my chin and raised it so I was looking him in the eye. He said in a smooth voice,

"Welcome to my humble abode, Miss Jenny Oscars..."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I stared at him and gasped in surprise and shock.

"How... how do you know my name?!" I stammered. He laughed, it sent a shiver down my back,

"Oh, my dear, I have been following you for a long time. Ever since your poor, pathetic parents were murdered…" I glared daggers up at him,

"MY PARENTS WERE NOT MURDERED! THEY DIED IN A FIRE!" I screamed. He laughed again.

"My dearest, there are things you don't know, even about yourself, that I know, for example, why your family hates you, why your lovely parents had to die…" He paused dramatically, "Your little brother…" My eyes widened in surprise,

"But… but I don't have a little brother…" He chuckled,

"Oh, don't you? Are you sure? My dear, you have had many things kept from you." He moved his hand up to my cheek,

"Stop calling me that!" I growled. And wrenched my head away from his hand. He frowned and slapped me hard across the face, causing me to fall onto my side. I couldn't balance very well with my hands still bound. He sighed and stood up, saying angrily,

"Get her out of my sight. I'll deal with her later." I was picked up and let myself be dragged away. The two men put me in a cage and cut the bonds on my hands. They locked the door and one said,

"Don't even try to escape, if you try to get anywhere, we'll be waiting right outside that door to stop you... by any means" They both laughed cruelly and walked out of the room locking the door behind them. I looked around frantically, there was no way out. I huddled into the corner of the cell, my cheek stinging and feeling very hot and swollen, a curtain of fatigue and defeat fell over me. I looked out through the small, grimy skylight above the cell, the stars really were beautiful. As my eyes fluttered closed, I thought I saw a figure pass overhead. I thought nothing of it and closed my eyes.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I woke up but kept my eyes shut. My body was really sore. I groaned, I hoped that last nights events were all just a bad dream... I suddenly got the feeling that there was someone standing above me. My eyes snapped open and I pressed myself against the wall, there were three men standing above me, one was the man from last night, the other two were the 'guards'. He grinned at me and I edged further into the corner of my cell. The grin wasn't a nice one, it seemed cruel and evil. He spoke,

"Well, good morning my dearest. We have a big day ahead of us." I seemingly found my courage, leaned forward and spat,

"I hate you, you evil son of a bitch! Get away from me!" His face changed, he turned to the man on his left,

"Get her out of there and teach her how to speak to her master." I was appalled,_ 'Who the hell did this guy think he was?'_ He started to turn and leave and the two men walked closer to my cell,

"Hey!" I yelled crawling up to the front of the cell, he stopped and turned to look at me, "You. Are. NOT. My master, and you never will be you sick bastard." He sneered and said as he turned and walked out again,

"Oh, we'll see about that." I stared after him speechless, _'What the hell are they planning to do with me?'_ The man unlocked the cell door and I scuttled back into the far corner, making myself as small a possible. The man scowled,

"Oh c'mon love, don' be difficult now." I pushed myself even further back into the cell. He grunted and grabbed my ankle and dragged me out of the cell. I kicked and screamed and punched and bit, but the man was too strong for me. He pulled me to my feet and into a dimly lit room. He pushed me against the wall, I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head away from him. Then he raised my arms above my head and clipped shackles to my wrists. He bent down and did the same to my feet. I struggled against them but I was held securely against the wall. Then he walked out of the room, leaving me alone. I looked down at the floor and sighed,_ 'Shit. How did I ever get into this mess?'_ I thought. Just then I heard voices outside the doorway, a rough voice spoke,

"Should I take care of her or would you like to sir?" That must've been the guard. Then a smooth voice came in,

"No. Leave her to me. I'll handle her..." _'That must be that shitbox.'_ I thought. I shivered at what I had just heard. I looked at the floor again. The voices stopped and I looked up. The man was standing in the doorway grinning like a madman, and he said, "Well, now we can really get to know each other Miss Oscars." He let out a haunting laugh and walked towards me.

I felt the fear rising in my chest again. I struggled to get loose, but my efforts were in vain, I was securely chained to the wall. He was still smiling when he came to a stop, inches from my face. I stared him straight in the face, mustering up a shred courage,

"What do you want with me?" I spat. He pulled a fake frown,

"My dearest, I only want you to respect me, and I will have that happen, whatever the consequences may be." I looked at him with a hatred so deep it would have made the devil proud. He sneered, "Now, shall we begin?" He put his hands on the wall behind me so that our bodies were only centimetres apart, his movement was so sudden and the intrusion of my personal space made me flinch. He chuckled, "A crack in our mask, eh?" He leaned in closer and tried to kiss me, but when I turned my head away from him so my hair was covering my face he growled and grabbed my chin, forcefully pressing his lips against mine. I struggled to get away from him and seeing that I had no intention on kissing him back pulled away, scowling at me. His gaze softened into a softer expression as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and slid the blade just under my shirt. I gasped at the cold touch of the metal, he laughed, "Don't worry, I don't plan to cause you any harm… yet." I shrunk away from the blade as he sliced through the fabric with ease, and my shirt fell to the floor… His eyes filled with lust as he stepped back to admire my body. I struggled against the chains afraid of what was coming next. I shrank back against the wall as he stepped closer. He put his hands on my chest and slowly slid them down to my waist, bringing his body with him so that he was kneeling by the time he got to my stomach. He grazed his lips over my stomach, I shivered. Not in pleasure but in disgust and fear. I finally had enough of this shit,

"Get off of me you sick, perverted git!" He stood up,

"Fine then. If that's how you want to play this game. I'll play rough too." He said with a hint of pleasure in his voice. He turned and took a few steps away so that I thought he was leaving, he spun back around and slapped me straight across the face. Some of his hand hit my eye and I could feel that side of my face beginning to heat up and swell already. He slapped the other side of my face and laughed, "How do you like me now, sunshine?" I replied with,

"It's better than the alternative, douchepants." He frowned,

"Fine then, I'm just getting started..."

_~15 hours later~_

I had endured hours of his torture, although I had lost count of how long I had been here. I was bloody and bruised, I didn't think there was one bit of me that wasn't aching in fatigue and pain. He used whips and ropes and water and burning hot metal. Still, I refused to give in. I bit back the tears stinging in my eyes, but I was unable to keep the tears burning down my cheeks and falling on to the cold cement floor. I could see from my limited line of vision that he had his back turned to me so I couldn't see what he was doing. He turned in such a way that I got a small glimpse of what he had in his hand, a long silver knife. I gasped quietly but it did not go undetected. He turned and sauntered over to me, smirking, with the knife in hand, unable to raise my head I spoke in a strained voice,

"Are you going to kill me now? After all that? You're just going to straight up and kill me?" He chuckled and said,

"Oh no my dear, I am not only going to kill you but I'm going to cut you and let you bleed out slowly. Until every, single, precious drop of your blood is gone." My eyes widened with shock and fear. I felt the cold metal of the knife on my right forearm and tried to shrink away as best as my battered body could. Then I felt an unimaginable searing pain slice down my arm causing my back to arch and a scream of agony to escape my lungs. I felt the knife graze both sides of my stomach sending waves of sheer agony through my body causing my toes to curl and my back to arch. Then I felt my body getting weaker and my vision going fuzzy. I heard that chilling laugh ring through the room as it faded away with distance. The last thing I remember is saying in just barely a whisper,

"Please, someone, anyone, please, save me." And a tall figure appearing in front of me saying,

"Your wish has been answered my lady, your life shall be spared." Then everything went black for what I thought was the last time.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

My body ached in every way possible. I tried opening my eyes but with no avail. I took a deep breath and remembered that I was supposed to be dead. I vaguely remember a man standing before me, but it wasn't the one that put me in this position, he sounded differently. _'If it wasn't him then who was it? How did I get here? Where was here anyways? Were my parents really murdered? How the hell am I not dead?'_ I had so many questions and no answers, and that's what I needed. Answers. I lifted my heavy eyelids with much difficulty and was blinded by the whiteness of the room around me. I blinked a few times and let my eyes adjust to my surroundings. By the starched appearance of the room I could tell I was in some kind of hospital room. The head of my bed was slightly raised so that I could see most of the room around me. It looked like any other hospital except that I was the only one there and the room was huge. I tried to sit up a little more, but pain shot through my body and I gasped. I remembered what happened, yesterday was it? How long had I been here? Yet another question that needed answering. I looked down at my body to inspect the damage done, bracing myself for any serious injuries. My right forearm was wrapped in a cloth bandage and so was my mid-section. There were bandages on any other fairly big cuts, and the rest of my body was decorated in bruises and cuts. Some of the bruises were pretty bad, colors ranging from sickly yellow-greens to dark, nearly black, blue-purples and almost any color in between. I didn't dare make another attempt at moving in case of causing myself any more harm. So I just laid there, splayed across my bed, helpless. I was a little frustrated at my immobility and the lack of nursing staff. Just as I was about to call for a doctor or nurse or something, a tall blonde man strode into my room.

"My lady! It is good to see you are awake. We were worried you weren't going to pull through for a while there. You lost quite a lot of blood." He had a concerned look on his face. "My guess is that if my brother hadn't rescued you you would have died." It took me a while to process what I had just heard, _'Brother? Who was this blonde dude? Where am I? What in the name of god is happening!?'_ My thoughts were interrupted by the man, "You must have many questions you would like to ask. My name is Thor, and I will try answer as many of your questions as is in my power." He smiled down at me. I could barely keep from laughing out loud at how happy he looked. I started with my first question,

"Ok, umm Thor? Where am I and how did I get here?" He put on a straight face and puffed out his chest proudly,

"You are in the realm of Asgard!" This time I actually did laugh out loud.

"Okaay, is that like your name for London or something? Because I've never heard of this Asgard place in my life." His face scrunched up like he was trying to figure out a way to describe physics to a four year old. After a few seconds he spoke,

"My lady, you are no longer in the realm of Midgard..." Seeing my confused face he elaborated a little more, "Or Earth as you call it. After rescuing you and saving your life my little brother, Loki, brought you here." I stared at Thor, open mouthed, not fully believing what I had just heard. But seeing the look on Thor's face I slowly accepted the fact that he was telling the truth. After a minute or two I regained myself and said slowly,

"So, I'm not on Earth and your brother saved my life?" He smiled at my understanding,

"Correct!" Just then a tall, thin man walked by the doorway to my room holding a book under his arm. He looked into my room and our eyes met, he had the most beautiful emerald green eyes. I stared at him in awe and Thor seeing the look on my face turned around and said, "Loki! Brother, come here and say hello!" Loki blushed and shyly said,

"No thank you brother, I was...uh...just on my way to the library. Bye!" Glancing at me one last time before he rushed off. Thor giggled turned back to me and said,

"The library is the opposite direction to which Loki went." We both started laughing. The pain in my body started to ease and I relaxed. I felt more at home here than I've ever felt on Earth.

I was still stuck in my 'recovery room' as Thor so called it, for at least a week after I first met the two brothers. The healing process was taking longer than expected. Every time the nurses tried to take the bandages off my arm and mid-section the wounds would reopen and start bleeding again. Thor came to visit me almost every day. I would ask him questions, and he would answer as best he could. When I ran out of questions, he would sit in a chair by my bedside and tell me stories of his childhood and all the adventures and trouble that he and Loki managed to get themselves into. He would talk until I fell asleep. I saw no more of Loki over the entire week, but he wasn't absent in my mind. I couldn't stop thinking of the eyes of his, _'How did he manage to get them so green?'_ Then one warm sunny day, Thor came into visit me as he always did, and started talking about current events in the palace, then he said something that caught my attention,

"My brother hasn't stopped asking about you since the other day." I laughed,

"Well, if he's so concerned about me why doesn't he just come over here and ask?" Thor had a puzzled look on his face and shrugged,

"I do not know my lady. He is not usually this shy." I looked at Thor, _'What was that supposed to mean?'_ I thought. All I could manage to say was,

"Oh..." Thor let out a chuckle,

"So my lady, how are you feeling today?" I rolled my eyes at Thor,

"How many times do I have to tell you, call me Jenny!" Thor looked at me apologetically, I grinned and continued, "It's ok. I'm feeling fine today, thanks for asking!" He smiled and said,

"Good! How would you like to go for a walk with me this afternoon, to get your first look at Asgard?" I looked at Thor with amazement,

"Really?! I would love too! But I'm afraid I don't have any suitable clothes to go strolling around in a city of Gods in, or any clothes at all for that matter." I looked down in disappointment. Thor laughed and pulled out a lovely light blue dress and an elegant pair of sandals from a paper bag that he had been carrying. I gasped, "Oh Thor! Those are beautiful! They must have cost a fortune, thank you so much!" He grinned,

"Not at all, my pleasure my l... I mean, Jenny. I thought they would suit you." I gingerly swung my legs over the edge of the bed and Thor stood up, "Now, I shall let you get dressed. I'll be just outside waiting." I thanked him again and he left the room. I slipped into the dress and put on the sandals._ 'Perfect fit! How'd he do that?'_ I walked over to a full length mirror in the corner of the room. The dress was absolutely stunning and flowy, _'Ya know, for a guy he's awful good at picking out clothes.'_ I smiled to myself, I had to ask him if he picked this out himself. I opened the door and walked out of the room for the first time since I had arrived here. I gasped and stood dumbfounded at the hugeness of the place. I gazed around in awe. Thor laughed and snapped me out of my shock, "You look very beautiful Jenny." I giggled and blushed,

"Thank you. Did you pick out the dress by yourself?" It was his turn to blush this time,

"Yes," he said, "I thought it would look pretty on you." He paused and I smiled up at him. He continued speaking, "Of course Loki had a say in it too!" He smiled proudly. I gaped at him in disbelief,

"Really?" I asked,

"Of course he did. He actually put quite a bit of thought into it." Thor offered me his arm and I took it. We started our walk with me still thinking about what he had just said.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Thor and I walked through the courtyard of the palace. He pointed out important landmarks and some of his favorite places to go as a kid. The longer we walked and the later it got, the more excited he became, kind of like he had a really big secret that he was itching to tell. We came to a fairly large hill and Thor dropped my arm, turned to me and said,

"Do you like sunsets?" I nodded, "Well then, come on let me show you something!" Thor grinned and grabbed my hand and pulled me up the hill. When we got to the top Thor plopped down on the ground and patted the grass next to him. I sank to the ground weakly as Thor spoke, "The Asgardian sunset is said to be one of the most beautiful in all the nine realms." I looked out over the fields and was truly dazzled by the range of fiery colours of the sunset. _'Wow, he was definitely right about it being beautiful.' _Thor and I sat on the hill, both of us awed by the gorgeous scene. Thor said in what could only be described as a dreamy voice, "When we were younger, Loki and I used to come out here on nights like this, and watch the sunset. I haven't got a chance to do it for many years." The last rays of sun disappeared behind the horizon and the stars started to come out. As I regained my strength I sighed and glanced at Thor and said,

"Thank you for bringing me out here, it was a lovely treat. I had a wonderful day." Thor smiled,

"It was my pleasure Jenny. If you're willing I shall show you more of the palace tomorrow." I happily agreed. Thor spoke again, "Now, if you're not too tired, I'll point out some constellations to you." I sighed, feeling extremely relaxed,

"I would like that very much, thank you." I laid down on my back, Thor however, stayed sitting, he was awfully quiet. He was acting almost like he was on guard or something. Then out of nowhere a figure jumped out of the shadows and tackled Thor. I screamed and scrambled a few feet away. Thor pushed the figure away and sat up laughing,

"Nice one Loki! You gave us quite a surprise there." I calmed down and inched back to my original spot on the hill. Loki sat up, chuckling, from where he was sprawled on the hillside looking triumphant. Thor laughed again, "Would you like to join us? I was just about to educate Jenny here on the constellations of Asgard." Loki looked at me and froze. I smiled at him and waved. He stared at me for a few seconds, shyly smiled and slowly waved back. Thor looked at Loki with puppy eyes. Loki sighed dramatically and said,

"Fine, if I must." He got up and walked over beside Thor and flopped down on his back. Loki and I looked at Thor expecting our lesson on astrology. I glanced at Loki and saw a glint of mischief in his eyes I wondered what he was planning this time. I was so deep in thought I didn't notice I was staring at Loki until Thor cleared his throat,

"Should I give you two a moment?" I looked at Thor in confusion,

"What... Oh! No! Umm no. I'm fine..." Thor laughed and I looked over at Loki and we both blushed. Then we looked up at the sky as Thor pointed out the different constellations in the night sky. However, it turned out that Thor didn't know that much about astrology because Loki kept interrupting and correcting him. With each interruption Thor got more and more frustrated and finally gave up and let Loki continue. He said,

"Fine! If you're so smart you do it, show off!" Loki chuckled and explained the meanings and history of webs of stars. Thor laid between us very moodily but lightened up after a while. I listened to Loki's soothing voice and drifted off to sleep with Loki's voice flowing through my head.

The bright sun shining through the window awoke me. I stretched and opened my eyes. The room I was in was unfamiliar, but it was welcoming, cozy and fairly small compared to everything else around here. I slid out of the massive bed and remembered I didn't fall asleep here. I shrugged, _'Weirder things have happened recently'_ I thought. I saw a small piece of folded paper, with my name on it, laying on the nightstand. I picked up the note and unfolded it, reading it aloud, it said,  
_"Good morning Jenny! Some business has arisen with my father that I must attend to, so I won't be able to show you around until later. There should be a selection of clothing in the wardrobe that you can use. Loki will be around, feel free to ask any of the guards for directions to the library, which is where he will most likely be. I hope you have a nice day! Speak with you later!_  
_-Thor"_  
I walked over to the wardrobe that Thor mentioned in his note, and opened it. There were at least 8-10 dresses hanging in the closet ranging from many different styles and colours. It took me a good 5 minutes before I settled on a deep forest green one, with sleeve that stopped at my elbows, rested slightly off my shoulders and had little sparkly light blue flowers climbing up the skirt. I walked to the bathroom to take a shower before heading out into the palace. I hadn't a good shower in days, while I was in the 'hospital' the nurses always made me take a bath. After my shower I got dressed and brushed my hair. I looked down at my bare feet and realised I didn't know what to do for shoes. I began my hunt for those sandals from yesterday. I found them under the bed and sat down to put them on. I stood up and opened the door, I glanced down either side of the long hallway. Nobody, so I decided to take my chances and go left. I walked for about five minutes and was just about to give up and go the other way when I passed a tall door that was slightly ajar. I pushed it open further and found myself standing in the biggest most magnificent library I had ever seen in my life. After I got over my shock, I decided to look around and see if I could manage to find Loki without getting hopelessly lost. I looked at the rows of books around me and tried my luck going right. I looked around a bit and saw a spiral staircase leading up and out of view. I climbed up the stairs and emerged into a large room with glass walls and roof. Big red velvet couches lined the walls, there were only a few bookshelves and just one or two were completely full of books. I gazed around the room and noticed Loki lounging on a couch, deeply engrossed in a book. I hadn't been very quiet coming up the stairs and he didn't seem to take any notice of my presence, so I figured he was REALLY involved in that book. Remembering what happened last night I decided to take my revenge on Loki for scaring the shit out of me. I darted silently between the bookcases until I has hidden behind one diagonal to where Loki was sitting. I creeped over to him and knelt behind the arm of the couch and whispered, right by his ear,

"Boo." He jumped and dropped the book on his face. I fell over laughing and Loki sat up rubbing his nose. He looked around to see who ambushed him and when he saw me laying on the floor laughing like a maniac, he blushed. Whether it was out of embarrassment of being snuck up on by me or something else, but he turned cherry red. After I stopped laughing, I apologised but said that it was revenge for last night. He said that we were even, sat back down on the couch and picked up his book again. I leaned against the edge of the couch and said, "So, what are you reading?" When he didn't answer I started poking him in the arm and said, "Hey. Hey Loki. Loki hey. Heeeeeyyy. Looooookkiiii. Loki I'm boooored. Let's go do somethiing..." I could see that he could hear me and was trying not to laugh. So I continued, and after about two more minutes of my antagonising, he gave in. He closed his book and chuckled. He looked at me and said,

"Why don't you go bother my brother? He must be around here somewhere." I gave him my best puppy eyes look and said,

"But Thor said he had some 'business' to take care of and to come find you and ask you to show me around." Loki sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the couch,

"Fine." he said, "Let's go find something to eat, I'm starving." I jumped up and said,

"YAAY! Me too!" Loki smirked, stood up and held out his hand for me to take. As soon as I did he took off running out of the library. Down stairs and around corners with me in tow barely keeping up behind him. We stopped at the door and Loki let go of my hand. He let me catch my breath before saying,

"Are you ready to go on?" I glanced up at him and said,

"As long as I don't have to run anymore." He sighed,

"If you insist. I suppose we can walk." I smiled up at him,

"Oh goody!" We both laughed and I followed Loki out of the library through the halls of the palace to the kitchens.

We walked into the kitchens and Loki busied himself with getting lunch provisions. I stood in the doorway awed by the variety of food in the kitchen. Loki had finished gathering food and laughed at my expression. I took one last look and followed him to a dining hall a little ways down the corridor. Loki set all the stuff he was carrying on a table. I sat down and Loki looked at me,

"Are sandwiches ok?" he asked. I nodded, "Great!" he said taking a seat across from me, "Let's eat!" We each made our first sandwich and I decided I could ask Loki some questions I had originally had for Thor. I started,

"Hey Loki?" he looked up at me, "Whose room was I in last night and how did I get there?" Loki swallowed what food he had in his mouth and took a drink. He took a deep breath and said,

"You were in the room I had as a kid last night, you should get your own chamber tonight. How you got there was, after you fell asleep, Thor had to leave and I carried you to that room and put you to bed." After he finished talking he blushed and continued eating. I smirked,

"And the dresses? Where'd they come from?" Loki blushed again and said,

"I picked those out for you." My eyes widened in surprise,

"Wow? Really? All of them are so beautiful." Loki looked up at me and said,

"The one that you're wearing right now is my favourite." I looked down at the soft dark green fabric of my dress and said quietly,

"Mine too." After a few minutes of silence we started chatting and ate our lunch. Much like Thor, Loki was an amazing storyteller. Loki, however, put more feeling into his stories, he was definitely more of an actor than Thor was. I listened and watched with great interest as he acted out epic battles with Frost Giants and other creatures of the realms. His stories were timeless and went on for what felt like only minutes but I knew were much longer. When he had finished, I started clapping, he bowed and sat down. He took a long drink of water, leaned back in his chair and said,

"So, do you still want to do some exploring?" I looked across at him,

"Of course I do! Maybe even more so, now that you've enlightened me on the wonders of Asgard." He smiled stood up and said,

"Well come on then, let us go!" He held out his arm for me and I skipped over to him and took it,

"Show me the way my brave prince." Loki blushed and playing along responded,

"Right this way my lady." We both giggled and started our stroll.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

We walked out into the courtyard and I noticed that Loki seemed tense. A heavy silence fell between us and I felt slightly uncomfortable, so I started to look for a distraction. A pale yellow butterfly floated past me and I decided that was a good enough excuse. I let go of Loki's arm and chased after the butterfly, laughing. I ran out of the courtyard and ended up in the middle of a large green meadow. I jumped and gently cupped the butterfly in my hands and plopped down in the tall, soft grass. I opened up my hands and lifted them up to eye level to admire the beautiful butterfly. I blew lightly on its tiny figure and watched as it fluttered away. I looked around and saw Loki leaning against an old pillar staring at me. There seemed to be something in his eyes that made me happy, I couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly it was, but it made me feel nice. Once he noticed that I was looking at him he turned away from me and towards the forest bordering the field. _'This is weird, I can't figure him out. Maybe that's part of why I like him so much. Wait... do I like him? He's really very attractive and he obviously has some type of feelings for me, but... I just don't know...'_ There were so many thoughts running through my head that I didn't notice how late it was getting. The sun had gone down and the dusk was swiftly deepening. I got up and walked across the meadow to where Loki was standing. He was looking into the forest and turned his head in my direction to say, "Come on, I want to show you something." He started walking towards the forest and I looked after him for a moment before jogging to catch up with him. I walked quietly beside him, and I slid my hand into his. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him look down at me in surprise but after a moment his hand closed gently around mine. We walked in comfortable silence through the darkening forest, neither of us completely sure of how we felt, but peaceful none the less.

We walked deeper into the forest and it was now very dark. Loki suddenly spoke,

"I'm about to do something and I don't want you to be scared or anything, ok?" I looked at him strangely,

"Loki?" He squeezed my hand in almost a pleading way,

"Please, just trust me, I won't hurt you." I sighed feeling a little nervous,

"Ok Loki. I believe you." He eased his grip on my hand and lifted his other hand in front of him and started quietly mumbling under his breath. A tiny pale blue ball of light floated above his hand. I gasped in amazement and stayed where I was. The ball grew steadily bigger and brighter until it fully illuminated the forest path before us. Loki stopped murmuring and dropped his hand, the ball of light bobbed along before us. I looked up at Loki who had a worried look on his face, "You thought I was going to run away over that?" Loki nodded slowly, I said in total amazement, "Loki, it's beautiful, and just because you have some weird magical powers doesn't mean I would be scared of or feel threatened by you." Loki smiled sadly,

"Well, maybe you wouldn't, but it's happened to me before. I was six when I first discovered my abilities. I showed some of my friends at school and they called me a freak and abandoned me. Ever since then I practiced them in private. My family are the only ones who know." I stopped walking and pulled Loki into a tight hug, he froze for a moment before hugging me back. I buried my face into his shirt and murmured,

"Oh Loki, I'm so sorry. That's absolutely horrible. I would never do that to you." He hugged me tighter,

"I had a feeling you wouldn't, but I couldn't be sure." I released him and looked him in the face, we smiled at each other. I turned back towards the path and said,

"Is that what you wanted to show me out here?" He shook his head and continued walking,

"It's just a little bit further." He said dismissively. I sighed and walked after him. I was looking at the ground remembering the walks my parents and I used to take in the woods when I was a child, and I didn't notice that Loki has stopped walking. I smacked into him and would have fallen over if he hadn't caught me by the shoulders. I looked up at him surprised,

"How?..." He silenced me by putting a finger to his lips and whispering,

"We have to be quiet or they'll disappear." I looked at Loki with a questioning look and he said, "Come see." He steadied me so I was back on my feet again and pointed to a clearing in the trees. I gasped quietly and clapped my hand over my mouth. There were tiny shapes hovering above the ground moving in fluid motions, almost as if they were dancing. I gazed at them with total awe and slowly dropped my hand to my side. I couldn't look away from them, they were so breathtakingly beautiful. "Do you want to get closer?" Loki asked. I nodded and slowly walked forward.

"Loki, wh...what are they?" Loki guided me to a fallen tree and we took a seat.

"They are called 'wisps'. They are said to be the pure parts of ones soul. They only appear on certain days of the year." He said in a hushed whisper. One drifted towards me, I reached my open upturned hand towards the tiny creature. It floated onto my palm and I lifted it up to my face. It was not just a little ball of light as I had thought, this one looked almost like a small kitten but with tiny wings on its back. It glowed with a pale blue light, almost the same colour as Loki's creation. It looked so fragile and delicate, but somehow still strong and pure. I put the small being back on the ground and noticed that a small crowd of them had gathered around Loki and me. I scooted closer to him feeling a little intimidated by the wisps presence. He put his arm around my shoulders and whispered, "It's okay, they won't hurt you." I nodded as he reached his hand into the crowd and lifted up a wisp. I leaned my head on his shoulder and was amazed as the creature started singing in the sweetest voice I had ever heard. Loki lifted his hand from my shoulder and started stroking my hair. I never wanted this moment to end but I felt my eyelids getting heavy with sleep. I watched the figures prance around the clearing, listened to the soft, sweet song of the wisps, I felt Loki's long fingers smoothly running through my hair and I finally drifted peacefully off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 8

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 8/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: center;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I woke up in yet another strange room. Except this time it was bigger and arranged differently, with a sofa sitting across the room. Stretched out on the sofa was Loki, all curled up and sleeping soundly. I slid out of bed and tiptoed over to Loki, kneeling down beside him and stroked his hair until his eyes fluttered open. I looked into those bright green eyes and said softly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good morning sleeping beauty." Loki smiled, sat up and stretched, the dark green t-shirt he was wearing rode up to expose most of his stomach. I silently gasped inside, em'Ohmygod. He's so built.'/em My thoughts did not slip unnoticed past Loki. He grinned and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Do you want to see more?" My eyes widened even further, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ummm no?" I said trying to pretend I didn't know what he meant. He grinned again and said slyly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I've seen the way you look at me Jenny, I know you want me." I slapped him across the face, not too hard but hard enough to sting quite a bit, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You cocky bastard! Just because I didn't reject you for your stupid magic shit doesn't mean I want to sleep with you!" I yelled. I glared at him and growled through gritted teeth, "Get. Out." I stormed over to the door and held it open for him. He sat on the couch stunned and holding his cheek. "Well, GO!" I shouted. His face clouded and he snapped back, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Fine! I'm going! Just don't come crying to me later!" He stopped in front of me and I glared at him and pointed to the door. He huffed, spun on his heel and strode out the door. I slammed the door behind him as soon as he crossed the door frame. My anger melted away and put my back against the door and slid down to the cold floor. em'What have I done?' /emI thought,em 'You love him and you know it. What was that for?'/em I rested my head on my knees and folded my arms in front of me and cried for what must've been a good long while. I couldn't tell Thor what happened, if he was even back that was. This was between Loki and I and we were going to sort it out ourselves. I didn't want to risk getting lost in the palace so I decided to explore my new room. There was a massive walk-in closet and a bathroom with a toilet and sink, a giant pool-like bathtub and a separate shower, which was equally epic. I decided to go with a hot bath and looked in the bathroom cabinets for soap and towels and such. I found those and also some lovely smelling bubble bath. I started the water and put a good amount of the sweet smelling liquid in, once the tub was full, I sank gratefully into the sweet smelling bubbles. I rested my head on the edge of the tub and relaxed into the blissfulness of the hot water. I sighed, secretly wishing Loki was here too. I shook the thought out of my head, em'Well geez, I was the one who slapped him for hitting on me and now I want him in my bath with me?'/em I thought, em'Oh great...'/em I didn't know why I slapped him. I didn't really have a good reason too, I mean he's done so many nice things for me and that's how I repay him? I heard a knock on the outside door and sunk deeper into the bath and silently cursed whoever it was. However, not another noise came and I figured they went away. I had probably soaked long enough and rinsed off in the shower. I dried my hair and found a simple dark blue dress in the closet and slipped it on. I walked out of the bathroom and noticed a small piece of folded paper that had been slid under the door. I picked it up and unfolded it. It read, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"emJenny I thought about what I did and I realised it was wrong. I shouldn't have taken advantage of the fact that you accepted me. I understand if you want nothing to do with me anymore. I wouldn't either if I was you. But I just wanted to let you know that you mean the world to me and that... I love you."/em /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"em~Loki/em/spanspan style="font: 12.0px Lucida Grande; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"br / /spanspan style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I gasped and dropped the note. It fluttered to the ground and a beautifully drawn picture of me with the butterfly appeared on the back of the letter. I knelt down and gingerly picked up the paper and hugged to my chest, sitting in a ball on the floor, silently crying. After I had calmed, I got up and hung the picture on the wall beside my bed and looked at it for a long while. Then, surprising myself I dashed out the door, not even bothering to put on shoes and raced in the general direction of the library. I came across it by chance and tried to find the stairs to the window room. I remembered the way and ran up the stairs and found Loki just sitting, looking out the window. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki!" I exclaimed, he looked around at me and stood up as I ran over to him. I jumped into his arms and whispered, "I love you too..." I stepped away from my embrace and he lifted my chin so I was looking straight into his face. He bent downward and our lips met in a soft kiss. A shiver ran through my entire body as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist as pulled me closer. His lips sent a tingling sensation though me and tasted faintly of mint. We pulled away and stood together in each others arms, who knew such a small kiss could be filled with such passion and longing. I suddenly felt very weak and shaky and Loki and I sat down on a couch. He kept fussing over me and I assured him I was fine. I leaned in for another light kiss and pushed him back so he was laying on the couch with me on top of him. I pulled back and looked him in the eyes, "See? Fine." He smiled and brushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear and I rested my head on his chest and we stayed like that for a long time. After a while Loki sat up gently and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm sorry to leave you but I have to go." I looked at him questioningly but when he didn't give an answer I decided not to push him too far. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Can you walk me back to my room?" I asked, he nodded, stood up and took my hand. We walked through the library and into the hallways back to my room. When we got there Loki placed a short kiss on my lips and departed. I entered my room and closed the door. em'Damn. That man is an amazing kisser. '/em I thought to myself. I rubbed my forehead pondering what Loki's reason for leaving was. My stomach growled, em'Oh. I haven't eaten anything all day.'/em I looked around the room for some food and saw a bowl of soup on my bedside table, em'Just what I wanted!'/em I lifted the bowl up to my face and felt the water vapour from the steam settle lightly on my face. I took a sip, it was the most amazing soup I had ever tasted in my life. I didn't recognise the flavour but it was rich and creamy and warm and beautiful. I drank the rest of the soup and suddenly felt very tired. I curled up on the bed and fell asleep./span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"~ strongemThe Next Morning ~/em/strong/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I awoke to a loud knocking on the door. I groaned and managed to get out a 'What' before whoever was knocking broke the door. Thor sprinted into the room. He ran over to the bed and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Jenny! Today is Loki's birthday! We have to make him a cake and get him a present!" My eyes widened, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What?! Oh, um ok. How are we going to do that?" Thor calmed down a little and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, I was hoping you knew how to bake a cake?" I nodded slowly, still looking at Thor with great confusion, he continued, "Great! I was also going to take you into town today to find a good present for Loki." I nodded again and said slowly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ok. Umm can I get ready and we can go in like, maybe 10 minutes?" Thor nodded eagerly and basically skipped out of the room, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Indeed! See you in 10 minutes!" As soon as the door closed I burst into laughter and hurried to get ready for our adventure into the city. After 10 minutes I walked opened the door and found Thor pacing back and forth in front of it. I laughed at him and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thor calm down. We have loads of time." Thor stopped pacing and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I suppose so, but I'm just so excited! Now, let the adventure commence!" I laughed again as Thor grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Is it a long walk into town?" I asked, Thor laughed and answered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Who said anything about walking? We're flying into town." I gasped and he stopped walking and said, "Hold on tight!" As he put one arm around my waist I held onto him for dear life. He started swinging Mjölinir in circles and raised his arm into the air and we lifted off the ground and flew through the air. I screamed and buried my face into Thors' side. After the initial shock of actually flying I looked down and saw the most amazing scenery rushing past. I marveled at the huge open fields, the expansive forests, the clear blue rivers snaking through it all and then, finally, the city of Asgard. It was breathtaking. The buildings glinted in the sun and the streets below bustled with morning commuters and everyday traffic. Before I knew it we were right in the center of it all in what seemed to be the shopping district. I spun around trying to take in the amazing city all at once but soon got dizzy and stopped. Thor steadied me and said, "Stay close. It's very busy today and I don't want you getting lost." I nodded and Thor took my hand and we zigzagged through the crowds of people. Thor seemed to know where he was going so I let him pull me along while I got quick glances at the shops around me. We stopped at the entrance to a side street with all kinds of vendors and stalls lining it. I looked at Thor, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""We're shopping for Loki in there?" Thor nodded and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki's kind of old fashioned, he doesn't like big or new things. He prefers simple gifts and things that he can appreciate." I looked back at the side street, em'Wow. Ok. That was deep.' /emThor produced a pouch of money from somewhere and gave it to me, "You're allowed to go wander around and find Loki a present, but stay within this street area. Meet me back here in half an hour" I saluted at Thor, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Sir, yes sir!" He laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""See you in 30 minutes!" Thor went off to explore leaving me standing in the middle of the street. I walked towards one of the stalls to see what they had to offer, nothing much, just some cracked teapots and other miscellaneous items. I meandered around some more and didn't find anything really interesting. I was about to give up and just get him a book or something when something caught my eye. I hurried over to the stall to investigate. I picked up the object and it was a necklace of some kind with a curious stone on the chain. I held the stone in my hand and noticed it gave off a slight blue glow, just like the wisps and Loki's light thingy. I decided he would like it and remind him of the wisps, he seemed to be quite fascinated by them. I purchased the necklace and the vendor put it in a little bag. I thanked her and set off to meet Thor. He was waiting for me with a paper bag he was holding. I ran towards him eager to show him what I had got Loki and he looked just as excited as I did. As soon as we were in earshot we both said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I have to show you what I got Loki!" We laughed and Thor pulled a book out of the bag and I took out my little pouch with the necklace in it. Thor looked at me strangely, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You got him a little bag?" He questioned. I laughed and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No silly! His present is in the bag!" Thor frowned and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh. Right, of course." I laughed again and asked, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ready to go back? I still have to bake that cake." Thors eyes widened,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh! I almost forgot!" Thor handed me the bag he was holding and I put my present in and held on to Thor. We took off again and landed back in Asgard within 5 minutes. Thor and I ran to the kitchens and found a recipe for chocolate cake (apparently Loki's favourite) and got to work. I measured out the ingredients and Thor helped me mix the batter. We each tasted some and decided it needed some chocolate chips so we threw those in and poured it into the cake pan and slid it in the oven to bake. Next we made the vanilla frosting from scratch and put in the fridge to keep until the cake was ready. Then Thor and I sat down at one of the tables and took out our gifts for Loki. Thor had managed to get his hands on a small box painted to look gold and a length of dark green ribbon, some dark green wrapping paper and gold ribbon for himself. I took the necklace out of its bag and Thor gasped, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Jenny that is incredible! Where ever did you find it?" I shrugged and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I don't know it was just at one of the stalls and I thought it would look cool on Loki." Thor gaped as I gently laid it in the box, closed the lid and tied the ribbon around it in a bow. Thor wrapped his book for Loki and asked me to tie the ribbon for him. As I was doing so I asked Thor, "So how old is Loki turning anyways?" Thor answered /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Today is his 133rd birthday!" My jaw dropped and the ribbon I was holding slipped out of my hands. Thor laughed, "No, no. It's fine, Asgardians live for thousands of years." I gaped at Thor. After several minutes I asked, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, um, how old would I be in Asgardian years?" Thor looked at me and sighed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh I'd say around the same age. Maybe a little younger, 128 maybe?" I smiled and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Cool." Thor laughed and I finished tying the bow on Thor's gift to Loki. The cake had about 10 more minutes to go and so Thor and I talked about where he had run off to for the past 2 days. I filled Thor in about my past two days but left out the kiss and the fight. By that time the cake had finished baking and I set it on a cooling rack to cool for another hour. Thor being the impatient soul he was, decided that was too long and went and got a fan to cool it off faster. Needless to say, it worked and I took the frosting out of the fridge and got a piping bag. I cut the cake in half and filled it with some of the frosting and put some raspberries in between the two halves. Then I put the other half of the cake on top of the raspberries and frosting and frosted the outside of the cake. I put a little bit of yellow food colouring into the remaining frosting and piped along the edges of the cake. Finally I found some dark green lettering icing and wrote 'Happy 133rd Birthday Loki!' To finish it off. When I was done, I let Thor look if he promised not to eat it, he agreed and was thrilled. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Jenny, Loki's going to love this! This cake is a complete masterpiece!" I giggled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well thank you, but I can't take all the credit. You helped you know." Thor's eyes lit up, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I did didn't I. Haha! I helped make a cake!" Thor raised his hands triumphantly. It was funny because he was holding his hammer and it looked like he had just won an epic battle. I laughed and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Where are we going to have our little birthday party? And how are you gonna get Loki there?" Thor smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""We're going to have it in the dining room just up the hall there. I'm going to ask Loki to come for a walk with me and I'll lead him there." I clapped my hands, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh yay! Can I jump out and surprise him as another present?" Thor laughed and agreed. I carried the cake to the dining room and put it in the middle of the table and put our two presents around it. Then Thor went to go get Loki and I stuck a couple candles around the cake. I heard the brothers voices in the hallway and I lit the candles and ducked behind the table. Loki walked into the room and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What's all this?" I jumped out from in back of the table and shouted, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Happy Birthday!" Loki laughed and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You guys didn't have to do this for me." Thor and I looked at each other, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course we did! You haven't had a proper party in years." Thor said. They both walked over to the table and I said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Make a wish and blow out the candles." Loki closed his eyes for a moment, opened them and blew out all the candles./span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p 


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I woke up in yet another strange room. Except this time it was bigger and arranged differently, with a sofa sitting across the room. Stretched out on the sofa was Loki, all curled up and sleeping soundly. I slid out of bed and tiptoed over to Loki, kneeling down beside him and stroked his hair until his eyes fluttered open. I looked into those bright green eyes and said softly,

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Loki smiled, sat up and stretched, the dark green t-shirt he was wearing rode up to expose most of his stomach. I silently gasped inside, _'Ohmygod. He's so built.'_ My thoughts did not slip unnoticed past Loki. He grinned and said,

"Do you want to see more?" My eyes widened even further,

"Ummm no?" I said trying to pretend I didn't know what he meant. He grinned again and said slyly,

"I've seen the way you look at me Jenny, I know you want me." I slapped him across the face, not too hard but hard enough to sting quite a bit,

"You cocky bastard! Just because I didn't reject you for your stupid magic shit doesn't mean I want to sleep with you!" I yelled. I glared at him and growled through gritted teeth, "Get. Out." I stormed over to the door and held it open for him. He sat on the couch stunned and holding his cheek. "Well, GO!" I shouted. His face clouded and he snapped back,

"Fine! I'm going! Just don't come crying to me later!" He stopped in front of me and I glared at him and pointed to the door. He huffed, spun on his heel and strode out the door. I slammed the door behind him as soon as he crossed the door frame. My anger melted away and put my back against the door and slid down to the cold floor. _'What have I done?' _I thought,_ 'You love him and you know it. What was that for?'_ I rested my head on my knees and folded my arms in front of me and cried for what must've been a good long while. I couldn't tell Thor what happened, if he was even back that was. This was between Loki and I and we were going to sort it out ourselves. I didn't want to risk getting lost in the palace so I decided to explore my new room. There was a massive walk-in closet and a bathroom with a toilet and sink, a giant pool-like bathtub and a separate shower, which was equally epic. I decided to go with a hot bath and looked in the bathroom cabinets for soap and towels and such. I found those and also some lovely smelling bubble bath. I started the water and put a good amount of the sweet smelling liquid in, once the tub was full, I sank gratefully into the sweet smelling bubbles. I rested my head on the edge of the tub and relaxed into the blissfulness of the hot water. I sighed, secretly wishing Loki was here too. I shook the thought out of my head, _'Well geez, I was the one who slapped him for hitting on me and now I want him in my bath with me?'_ I thought, _'Oh great...'_ I didn't know why I slapped him. I didn't really have a good reason too, I mean he's done so many nice things for me and that's how I repay him? I heard a knock on the outside door and sunk deeper into the bath and silently cursed whoever it was. However, not another noise came and I figured they went away. I had probably soaked long enough and rinsed off in the shower. I dried my hair and found a simple dark blue dress in the closet and slipped it on. I walked out of the bathroom and noticed a small piece of folded paper that had been slid under the door. I picked it up and unfolded it. It read,

_Jenny I thought about what I did and I realised it was wrong. I shouldn't have taken advantage of the fact that you accepted me. I understand if you want nothing to do with me anymore. I wouldn't either if I was you. But I just wanted to let you know that you mean the world to me and that... I love you."_

_~Loki_  
I gasped and dropped the note. It fluttered to the ground and a beautifully drawn picture of me with the butterfly appeared on the back of the letter. I knelt down and gingerly picked up the paper and hugged to my chest, sitting in a ball on the floor, silently crying. After I had calmed, I got up and hung the picture on the wall beside my bed and looked at it for a long while. Then, surprising myself I dashed out the door, not even bothering to put on shoes and raced in the general direction of the library. I came across it by chance and tried to find the stairs to the window room. I remembered the way and ran up the stairs and found Loki just sitting, looking out the window.

"Loki!" I exclaimed, he looked around at me and stood up as I ran over to him. I jumped into his arms and whispered, "I love you too..." I stepped away from my embrace and he lifted my chin so I was looking straight into his face. He bent downward and our lips met in a soft kiss. A shiver ran through my entire body as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist as pulled me closer. His lips sent a tingling sensation though me and tasted faintly of mint. We pulled away and stood together in each others arms, who knew such a small kiss could be filled with such passion and longing. I suddenly felt very weak and shaky and Loki and I sat down on a couch. He kept fussing over me and I assured him I was fine. I leaned in for another light kiss and pushed him back so he was laying on the couch with me on top of him. I pulled back and looked him in the eyes, "See? Fine." He smiled and brushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear and I rested my head on his chest and we stayed like that for a long time. After a while Loki sat up gently and said,

"I'm sorry to leave you but I have to go." I looked at him questioningly but when he didn't give an answer I decided not to push him too far.

"Can you walk me back to my room?" I asked, he nodded, stood up and took my hand. We walked through the library and into the hallways back to my room. When we got there Loki placed a short kiss on my lips and departed. I entered my room and closed the door. _'Damn. That man is an amazing kisser. '_ I thought to myself. I rubbed my forehead pondering what Loki's reason for leaving was. My stomach growled, _'Oh. I haven't eaten anything all day.'_ I looked around the room for some food and saw a bowl of soup on my bedside table, _'Just what I wanted!'_ I lifted the bowl up to my face and felt the water vapour from the steam settle lightly on my face. I took a sip, it was the most amazing soup I had ever tasted in my life. I didn't recognise the flavour but it was rich and creamy and warm and beautiful. I drank the rest of the soup and suddenly felt very tired. I curled up on the bed and fell asleep.

~ **_The Next Morning ~_**

I awoke to a loud knocking on the door. I groaned and managed to get out a 'What' before whoever was knocking broke the door. Thor sprinted into the room. He ran over to the bed and said,

"Jenny! Today is Loki's birthday! We have to make him a cake and get him a present!" My eyes widened,

"What?! Oh, um ok. How are we going to do that?" Thor calmed down a little and said,

"Well, I was hoping you knew how to bake a cake?" I nodded slowly, still looking at Thor with great confusion, he continued, "Great! I was also going to take you into town today to find a good present for Loki." I nodded again and said slowly,

"Ok. Umm can I get ready and we can go in like, maybe 10 minutes?" Thor nodded eagerly and basically skipped out of the room,

"Indeed! See you in 10 minutes!" As soon as the door closed I burst into laughter and hurried to get ready for our adventure into the city. After 10 minutes I walked opened the door and found Thor pacing back and forth in front of it. I laughed at him and said,

"Thor calm down. We have loads of time." Thor stopped pacing and replied,

"I suppose so, but I'm just so excited! Now, let the adventure commence!" I laughed again as Thor grabbed my hand and pulled me outside.

"Is it a long walk into town?" I asked, Thor laughed and answered,

"Who said anything about walking? We're flying into town." I gasped and he stopped walking and said, "Hold on tight!" As he put one arm around my waist I held onto him for dear life. He started swinging Mjölinir in circles and raised his arm into the air and we lifted off the ground and flew through the air. I screamed and buried my face into Thors' side. After the initial shock of actually flying I looked down and saw the most amazing scenery rushing past. I marveled at the huge open fields, the expansive forests, the clear blue rivers snaking through it all and then, finally, the city of Asgard. It was breathtaking. The buildings glinted in the sun and the streets below bustled with morning commuters and everyday traffic. Before I knew it we were right in the center of it all in what seemed to be the shopping district. I spun around trying to take in the amazing city all at once but soon got dizzy and stopped. Thor steadied me and said, "Stay close. It's very busy today and I don't want you getting lost." I nodded and Thor took my hand and we zigzagged through the crowds of people. Thor seemed to know where he was going so I let him pull me along while I got quick glances at the shops around me. We stopped at the entrance to a side street with all kinds of vendors and stalls lining it. I looked at Thor,

"We're shopping for Loki in there?" Thor nodded and said,

"Loki's kind of old fashioned, he doesn't like big or new things. He prefers simple gifts and things that he can appreciate." I looked back at the side street, _'Wow. Ok. That was deep.' _Thor produced a pouch of money from somewhere and gave it to me, "You're allowed to go wander around and find Loki a present, but stay within this street area. Meet me back here in half an hour" I saluted at Thor,

"Sir, yes sir!" He laughed,

"See you in 30 minutes!" Thor went off to explore leaving me standing in the middle of the street. I walked towards one of the stalls to see what they had to offer, nothing much, just some cracked teapots and other miscellaneous items. I meandered around some more and didn't find anything really interesting. I was about to give up and just get him a book or something when something caught my eye. I hurried over to the stall to investigate. I picked up the object and it was a necklace of some kind with a curious stone on the chain. I held the stone in my hand and noticed it gave off a slight blue glow, just like the wisps and Loki's light thingy. I decided he would like it and remind him of the wisps, he seemed to be quite fascinated by them. I purchased the necklace and the vendor put it in a little bag. I thanked her and set off to meet Thor. He was waiting for me with a paper bag he was holding. I ran towards him eager to show him what I had got Loki and he looked just as excited as I did. As soon as we were in earshot we both said,

"I have to show you what I got Loki!" We laughed and Thor pulled a book out of the bag and I took out my little pouch with the necklace in it. Thor looked at me strangely,

"You got him a little bag?" He questioned. I laughed and said,

"No silly! His present is in the bag!" Thor frowned and said,

"Oh. Right, of course." I laughed again and asked,

"Ready to go back? I still have to bake that cake." Thors eyes widened,

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Thor handed me the bag he was holding and I put my present in and held on to Thor. We took off again and landed back in Asgard within 5 minutes. Thor and I ran to the kitchens and found a recipe for chocolate cake (apparently Loki's favourite) and got to work. I measured out the ingredients and Thor helped me mix the batter. We each tasted some and decided it needed some chocolate chips so we threw those in and poured it into the cake pan and slid it in the oven to bake. Next we made the vanilla frosting from scratch and put in the fridge to keep until the cake was ready. Then Thor and I sat down at one of the tables and took out our gifts for Loki. Thor had managed to get his hands on a small box painted to look gold and a length of dark green ribbon, some dark green wrapping paper and gold ribbon for himself. I took the necklace out of its bag and Thor gasped,

"Jenny that is incredible! Where ever did you find it?" I shrugged and said,

"I don't know it was just at one of the stalls and I thought it would look cool on Loki." Thor gaped as I gently laid it in the box, closed the lid and tied the ribbon around it in a bow. Thor wrapped his book for Loki and asked me to tie the ribbon for him. As I was doing so I asked Thor, "So how old is Loki turning anyways?" Thor answered

"Today is his 133rd birthday!" My jaw dropped and the ribbon I was holding slipped out of my hands. Thor laughed, "No, no. It's fine, Asgardians live for thousands of years." I gaped at Thor. After several minutes I asked,

"Well, um, how old would I be in Asgardian years?" Thor looked at me and sighed,

"Oh I'd say around the same age. Maybe a little younger, 128 maybe?" I smiled and said,

"Cool." Thor laughed and I finished tying the bow on Thor's gift to Loki. The cake had about 10 more minutes to go and so Thor and I talked about where he had run off to for the past 2 days. I filled Thor in about my past two days but left out the kiss and the fight. By that time the cake had finished baking and I set it on a cooling rack to cool for another hour. Thor being the impatient soul he was, decided that was too long and went and got a fan to cool it off faster. Needless to say, it worked and I took the frosting out of the fridge and got a piping bag. I cut the cake in half and filled it with some of the frosting and put some raspberries in between the two halves. Then I put the other half of the cake on top of the raspberries and frosting and frosted the outside of the cake. I put a little bit of yellow food colouring into the remaining frosting and piped along the edges of the cake. Finally I found some dark green lettering icing and wrote 'Happy 133rd Birthday Loki!' To finish it off. When I was done, I let Thor look if he promised not to eat it, he agreed and was thrilled.

"Jenny, Loki's going to love this! This cake is a complete masterpiece!" I giggled,

"Well thank you, but I can't take all the credit. You helped you know." Thor's eyes lit up,

"I did didn't I. Haha! I helped make a cake!" Thor raised his hands triumphantly. It was funny because he was holding his hammer and it looked like he had just won an epic battle. I laughed and said,

"Where are we going to have our little birthday party? And how are you gonna get Loki there?" Thor smiled,

"We're going to have it in the dining room just up the hall there. I'm going to ask Loki to come for a walk with me and I'll lead him there." I clapped my hands,

"Oh yay! Can I jump out and surprise him as another present?" Thor laughed and agreed. I carried the cake to the dining room and put it in the middle of the table and put our two presents around it. Then Thor went to go get Loki and I stuck a couple candles around the cake. I heard the brothers voices in the hallway and I lit the candles and ducked behind the table. Loki walked into the room and said,

"What's all this?" I jumped out from in back of the table and shouted,

"Happy Birthday!" Loki laughed and said,

"You guys didn't have to do this for me." Thor and I looked at each other,

"Of course we did! You haven't had a proper party in years." Thor said. They both walked over to the table and I said,

"Make a wish and blow out the candles." Loki closed his eyes for a moment, opened them and blew out all the candles.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I shivered and reached out my arm to bring Loki closer. My hand hit empty air and I slowly opened my eyes. I was alone in the bed. I sat up and pulled the duvet around me to keep in some of the warmth. I looked around the room, no sign of him. I inched of the bed with the blanket wrapped around me like a cape, I padded quietly into the bathroom and checked for any signs of Loki. Nothing. I walked back to the bedroom and sat dejectedly on the edge of the bed, _'Where could he be? Why did he leave in the first place?'_ Questions swirled through my head as I thought back to last night. How it ended with me in tears and that look that Loki had in those beautiful green eyes of his. I pulled the big blanket tighter around me and snuggled deeper into it. I looked around the room again and my eyes rested on Loki's shirt but noticed that his pants were missing. A thought sparked into my brain and my head whipped around to the balcony door. I leaped off the bed, ran over to the door and flung them open. Loki was leaning calmly on the railing looking out over Asgard. He turned around to look at me when he heard the doors open, his eyes filled that same look as he started to talk. I rushed over to him, still wrapped in the blanket, hugged him hard, cutting him off from whatever he was about to say. After I let him go, I looked up at him and said,

"Loki, it's not your fault. None of it is. I owe you everything, you're my saviour and I don't know how to ever repay you." I stepped back and nestled my head into the big duvet. Loki stared at me in shock for a moment before closing the gap between us. He put his hand underneath my chin and gently lifted my head to look at him. He leaned down and said softly,

"You owe me nothing. You give me your love and trust and that is more than I could ever ask for in repayment." Our lips touched in a soft kiss, and the next thing I knew I was being lifted off my feet and back into the bedroom. Loki placed me gently of the bed, unwrapped me from the duvet and gently pushed me onto my back. He slipped off his pants and laid down beside me, covering us with the blanket. I wiggled closer to him, trying to eliminate all space between us. I kissed his cheek and quietly said,

"I love you Loki." I felt him smile into my hair and say,

"I love you too Jenny." I looked up at his face and we locked lips again. He gently moved his hands up and down my sides and kept pressing up against me. I rolled onto him and lightly ran my fingers over his midsection, his stomach muscles tensing whenever I touched him and felt his hips jerk involuntarily. I smiled into the kiss and traced his toned body with light, dancing fingers. I managed to squeeze out unsuppressed moans of pleasure from deep inside his chest. I felt his erection pressing against my stomach and let him take over. He wasted no time, he stripped us both out of what little clothing we were wearing and rolled us over so that he was on top of me and totally in control. He pressed every inch of his body that he could against me and kissed me a little forcefully. I looked up at him, a little curiously and clearly saw the lust hazing over his, normally clear, emerald eyes. I then realised that he wasn't going to stop or apologise for anything this time. I smiled, not really regretting it, I wanted Loki to take control, to do whatever he pleased with me. I bit his neck and he groaned. I felt his erection pressing against the sensitive skin on my stomach and gasped slightly. It was huge. He ground his hips against mine and moaned again. He pinned my shoulders to the bed went all the way. When he was done he collapsed onto the bed next to me, his breathing ragged and uneven. We both just lay on the bed for a while, panting and enjoying the feeling of the cool air on our skin. When our breathing returned to normal I got up to take a shower, to clean myself up a bit. Loki stayed sprawled on the bed for a while longer before joining me. We slowly washed and rinsed each others bodies. After that was done Loki stepped out, dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his thin waist. I stayed in for a while longer, enjoying the sensation of the hot water running over my tired form. Finally, I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. I picked up a towel and dried off, wrapping the fluffy towel around me. I grabbed another one to dry and wrap my hair with. I walked out of the bathroom. Loki turned to me as he slipped on a new pair of grey sweatpants and a navy blue t-shirt. He frowned and said, "You can't go around looking like that now can you?" I grinned at him and said teasingly,

"I bet you wouldn't mind it." Loki chuckled and walked towards me, taking my upper arms in his hands and replied,

"You would be right. But your gorgeous body isn't for public consumption." I laughed and he kissed me softly on the lips. I put my hand on his cheek and leaned into the kiss, deepening it. We pulled away and he held out his hand, "Let's see if we can find anything for you to wear." I took his hand and followed him over to the bookshelf watching in awe as he pulled a certain book and a section of the wall swung in to reveal a lit passageway. I gaped and Loki gently pulled me along. As it turned out the passageway led to a huge walk-in closet with hundreds upon hundreds of women's, men's and children's clothing. He picked out a pale yellow dress made of a light and flowing material. I slid out of the towels and into the dress, along with underwear and a bra I had chosen. I turned to look in a mirror and slowly did a twirl. I gasped, _'I looked almost like the butterfly I had caught the other day!'_ Loki smiled, "That was the intent, darling." I stared at him and stuttered,

"Can you... read minds?" He nodded and said,

"To an extent. I can read thoughts more than minds. Some peoples more than others. It also depends on the strength of the thought." I turned and stared open-mouthed at him, he continued, "Your mind is usually very hard to read but you literally shouted that thought so I was able to hear it quite clearly." I closed my mouth and said, still shocked,

"Doesn't that drive you crazy? All those thoughts running through your head, all the time?" Loki shrugged,

"Like I said, some peoples thoughts are easier to hear than others. It also depends how far away a person is." My eyes wide I asked,

"Is that why you came to save me?" He nodded and said sadly,

"I could hear you begging and I couldn't let it go unnoticed. So I saved you." I stared at him, utterly amazed. He started to look a bit worried and quickly said, "Is that okay? I mean, you aren't going to leave or anything are you?" I laughed and hugged him,

"No that's totally cool! Of course I'm not going to leave! Actually, you can be pretty sure I'm never going to leave you until the day I die." Loki smiled and rested his chin on the top of my head,

"Good. I'm very glad to hear that." I hugged him closer as he softly stroked my hair.

We walked back into his room and he walked into the bathroom. I walked out onto the balcony to get some air. I gazed out over the quiet hills and fields of Asgard and sighed deeply. A moment later I heard raised voices and peered over the edge of the railing to investigate. I looked down to the walkway below the balcony and saw two men arguing loudly. Both men were strongly built and tall. I watched them and tried to make out any of what they were saying. I only picked up every couple of words, not enough to understand what they were talking about. Their arguing got louder, obviously unaware that I was listening in. I felt kind of bad eavesdropping on their argument and was about to go back inside when I overheard a very concerning sentence,

"We have to kill Loki first, he'll ruin everything if we don't!" I gasped and clapped a hand over my mouth in an attempt not to be heard. I staggered back into the bedroom and closed the doors quietly behind me. I stood in the middle of the room still in shock. Loki walked out of the bathroom and saw me just standing there. I looked over at him and my eyes started to sting with the threat of oncoming tears. A flash of worry moved across his eyes and he quickly walked over to me. He pulled me into a tight embrace as I burst into tears. He stroked my hair and said,

"Shhh, Jenny, what's wrong? Are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt?" I swallowed hard, pulled away and looked up at him,

"I was on the balcony and... and there were these men arguing... and I overheard them say that... that... they were going to kill you." The tears started flowing down my cheeks again and I hugged him and buried my face in his shirt. I heard him sigh and he lifted my chin so that I was looking up at him. He wiped away the tears falling from my eyes and I sniffled quietly. He smiled down at me and placed a soft but firm kiss on my lips. He placed both his hands on my shoulders and said firmly,

"Do you know who those two men were?" I shook my head sadly and he continued, "Can you remember what they looked like, could you describe them for me?" I looked up at him and nodded,

"They were both really strong looking and a little taller than you. One had short brown hair and the other was wearing a helmet so I couldn't see. They both had light skin." I paused for a moment seeing if I could recall any further details, "I don't know if this will help, but they were both wearing guards uniforms." Loki stared out the glass doors, his usually calm features darkened with anger. He looked down at me and said in a serious and urgent voice,

"Did you hear anything else?" I nodded slowly,

"They said something about stopping Thor becoming king and they said they had to... kill you because you'd get in the way..." Loki's eyes snapped to the door. He grabbed my hand and said urgently,

"We need to warn my brother." We ran through the halls of the palace, desperately searching for Thor. Loki and I called Thor's name loudly as we ran. We burst into the weapons room and found Thor talking to a few of the guards. I gasped and leaned over to whisper to Loki,

"That's one of the men that I saw! The one that Thor's talking to now! What do we do?" Loki growled and squeezed my hand and bent down to whisper back,

"I know that man. His name's Luke. He is commander of the guards, and is very dangerous if he's not your ally. Just act normal for now. We need to get my brother away from him and speak to Thor in private." Loki squeezed my hand again, but dropped it as we made our move towards the two men. Loki walked nonchalantly up to Thor and Luke and said, "Good afternoon gentlemen." They said 'hello' to Loki and I. Luke's eyes dwelled on me for a bit longer, which made me feel slightly uncomfortable, he finally turned back to Loki. He continued, "I am very sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I'm afraid I must speak privately with my brother." Thor looked slightly confused but Luke nodded in understanding and bid his farewell to everyone. He kissed the back of my hand before leaving and I sensed Loki tense up beside me. He watched Luke leave and waited a few seconds before turning to Thor. Thor looked very confused at the look of anxiety on his brothers face, he said in a rather concerned voice,

"Loki what is wrong?" Loki looked at me and I nodded. Loki proceeded to tell Thor about my experience on the balcony, the plot to kill him and possibly Thor as well and how he guessed that they planned to take the throne once him and Thor were dead. Thor stared at Loki in shock, but then his shock turned to anger and he paced back and forth across the room, occasionally throwing various weapons across the room. Once Loki had managed to calm Thor down there was still something I needed to clarify with the brothers,

"But even if Luke does manage to find a way to um... kill you guys, how does that give him the right to the throne?" Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead,

"If there are no heirs of the rightful king, the first in command of the royal guards gets the right to the throne." I sighed and determinedly said,

"Well, we can't let that happen. We have to find a way to stop him!" I put my hands on my hips and Thor and Loki looked at each other and smiled. They nodded and Loki spoke up,

"We should confer with the Allfather to tell him of this plot." Thor gasped and look at Loki,

"Brother you know father is unwell, we cannot bother him with this." Loki looked at Thor and argued,

"But Thor, this could involve him, and mother too! If they want us out of the way do you not think that they wouldn't hesitate to kill them too?" Thor opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again and nodded solemnly. I looked up at Loki and he looked very sad, so I snaked my hand into his and held it tightly. Then I smiled and said,

"Alright, let's go meet the Allfather!" Thor and Loki grinned at me and we started to the throne room.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

I thanked Odin for his gratitude and his hospitality. It was then that Loki spoke up,

"Father, I am afraid we have some disturbing news to share with you." Odin gave him permission to keep talking and Loki told the entire plot to Odin. By the time he was done the Allfather was sitting in his throne, his face unreadable but his eyes showed an unmeasurable disappointment, sadness and most of all anger. He finally said in a weakened voice,

"My sons, I am afraid I cannot help you in my weakened state, but you must do whatever you can to stop this. You mother and I will be fine, but I want you two to look out for yourself and Lady Jenny. I hope you can stop this before any worse becomes of it." Loki and Thor nodded and turned to leave I started to follow them but turned and, before I knew what I was doing, said,

"Thank you so much sir. I couldn't live with losing either of your sons. They have been so amazingly accepting and kind. They made me feel more at home here than I ever did on Midgard..." I stopped babbling as I realised Odin looked at me with a certain amount of shock. I blushed a bright red, curtsied and whispered a thank you to him. I turned to leave and Odin called my name, I stopped and slowly turned around. He spoke to me in a soft tone,

"I am glad that you have fallen in love with Loki. I think he was very lonely before you appeared in his life." I stared at the Allfather in shock,

"How...how did you..." Odin laughed,

"I do talk to my sons, and they do tell me about their lives while I am not able to be with them." I stared at him blankly. He laughed again, "Go. Catch up with them. I don't want you walking around the palace by yourself." I nodded and thanked him again. I almost skipped out of the room I was so happy. Thor and Loki were outside waiting anxiously, as soon as I stepped out of the room they started asking all kinds of questions I just smiled and hugged Loki. Loki looked at Thor, shrugged and hugged me back. When I stopped hugging Loki and he said,

"Your talk went well then?" I nodded,

"He seems to like me a lot." Loki laughed

"Well that's good! That makes it much easier to talk to him. He doesn't take a liking to everyone, you know." I laughed and asked,

"Well, shall we be going then? Oh, and is there anywhere I can get something to eat? I'm starving!" Loki nodded and all three of us headed towards the kitchens. Loki and I walked with his hand around my waist and my hand around his. I glanced at Thor out of the corner of my eye and he looked slightly uncomfortable. I nudged Loki and flicked my eyes towards Thor. Loki grinned mischievously and swept me off my feet so that he had one arm under my knees and the other under my shoulders. I screeched and Thor whipped around, alarmed. Loki and I laughed and Thor blushed and turned back around. I clasped my hands behind Loki's neck and let him carry me the rest of the way to the kitchen. When we got there he put me down and I walked in behind Thor. I looked around for some snacks and found some cheese and crackers. I grabbed a cutting board and a knife, a few types of cheese and one or two types of crackers. I put them on the counter in the kitchen and hopped up next to my snack. I sliced a bit of cheese and took a cracker at ate it. It. Was. Amazing. I couldn't get over how good the food was here. I was about to reach for another one when I felt a body standing in very close to me. I looked up and saw Loki standing only centimetres in front of me. He had that mischievous grin on again and leaned in for a kiss. I kissed him back as I felt him pull my thighs up to his waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, playing into his game. My guess was is that he wanted to make Thor as uncomfortable as possible. I pulled back and giggled, "Oh, you're so mean." He grinned wider and went in for another kiss. This time I groaned and wiggled closer to him. He lifted me up and I let out a little squeak and a giggle. Thor turned around from the fridge and nearly choked on what ever he had in his mouth. He coughed and cleared his throat rather loudly. Loki put me back on the counter and we both turned to look at Thor. Loki grinned and said,

"Have you got something in your throat there brother?" Thor turned pink and stammered,

"Well no...but ummm...could you two...like...stop or something? It's kind of uncomfortable..." Loki sighed over dramatically and said,

"If you insist. We will stop. For now." He winked and placed a small kiss on my neck. Which earned him a small giggle from me. Loki backed away and I hopped off the counter. I gathered my snack and Loki handed me a wine glass. I looked at him questioningly and he winked at me, I shrugged and decided to go with it. The three of us headed out of the kitchen and back to our chambers. Thor went to his room and I wished him a good night as I figured I wouldn't be seeing him again before the day was out. Loki insisted that I stay in his room again tonight and I didn't argue. Although once we were in his room I asked him,

"Why are you acting so protective lately?" He looked at me and said,

"Because... if Luke is really trying to overthrow Asgard he will stop at nothing to get to us, and to get to me he can use you. I can't let him take you from me." He looked at the floor. I put down my cheese board and glass and walked over to him, pulled him into a gentle embrace and said,

"Oh Loki. I love you so much." He hugged me back and said,

"I love you too Jen." Then he pulled back, smiled and held up the bottle of red wine he had brought and his glass, "Drink?" I smiled and nodded turning to grab my glass off the bedside table. He poured us each a glass of wine and led me out onto the balcony where we each pulled up a chair and just sat drinking wine and looking at the stars. I leaned my head on Loki's shoulder and he draped his arm across my shoulders. We sat for a long time just looking into the night and talking quietly. We polished off the bottle of wine and went back inside. We slipped out of our clothes and crawled under the covers together and fell asleep, wrapped in each others arms.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

I woke up to a cool breeze blowing gently across my face. I opened my eyes and looked at the beautiful man sleeping soundly beside me. I kissed Loki gently on the nose and slid soundlessly out of bed. I padded quietly into the bathroom and grabbed a blue silk robe on the door. I tied the sash tight around my waist and walked silently to the slightly open balcony doors to get some air. Before walking out onto the balcony I turned and looked at Loki. He looked very attractive in his boxer shorts and the sheet draped haphazardly around him. I smiled and turned back to walk outside. I was hit by a crisp breeze and the fresh smell of early morning. I stretched and took a deep breath, making me a little lightheaded. I pulled the light robe closer around me and sleepily trudged over to the railing and leaned on it. I watched the sun creeping slowly up over the horizon and sighed, thinking about what I would do if I were to lose Loki. I shook my head and shivered and turned around to face the doors. I looked around the balcony and picked up the empty bottle and two glasses and brought them inside. I set them down on the table trying to make as little noise as possible. I heard Loki shift in the bed and walked across the room to lay down beside him. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled,

"You smell nice." He said, running a hand through my hair. I laughed,

"Thanks. You look adorable when you're sleeping." Loki frowned and rolled over,

"I am a prince of Asgard and I do NOT look adorable." I giggled and started poking him in the side until he turned around,

"But you look so peaceful and cuute! Oh, what's this, you're ticklish too?" Loki's eyes widened,

"What?! No. I am NOT ticklish. No." I sat up and he pulled the sheet up to his chin. I grinned and wrenched the sheet out of his grip. He backed up against the wall and I followed, "No. Not ticklish. Not ticklish." I laughed again,

"You aren't fooling anyone." I leaped onto him and tickled him until he was to weak do anything. I fell back on the bed, both of us laughing hysterically. Once our laugher had receded into fits of giggles and our breathing returned to mostly normal we sat up and looked at each other. I grinned and said, "Not ticklish eh?" Loki smiled and threw a pillow at me,

"Shuttup..." I giggled and threw the pillow back,

"Well, I guess we should probably get dressed and go check on Thor." Loki sighed, sounding a little disappointed and replied,

"I guess you're right. I'm already so tired of this stupid plot. Can't they just leave it alone?" I sighed and moved so that I could give him a hug and rest my head on his shoulder,

"I know Lokes. I'm tired too, and I wish they would just leave it alone. But they won't and you and me, we just have to keep fighting. Okay?" Loki looked down at me as I looked up at him,

"Okay." He said quietly as he placed a light kiss on my lips. I unclasped my hands from his waist and pulled him off the bed with me. I went to go get dressed and Loki went to go shower. I grabbed a tight, velvet, midnight blue dress. I got dressed and walked back into the main bedroom. Loki was still in the shower so I decided to go pay Thor a visit myself. I walked down the hallway to Thors chamber and knocked on the door. Thor opened with a shocked look on his face,

"Where's Loki?" I replied,

"He's taking a shower back in his room. Why, is anything wrong?" Thor shook his head and said,

"No. I'm just surprised he let you come down here by yourself." I shrugged,

"It's like 10 feet down the hallway. It's not like I'm gonna get kidnapped or anything." Thor looked at me sternly,

"You could have been." I looked up at Thor and my eyes widened, he continued, "Thankfully you weren't. Come inside." He stepped aside to let me in and I quickly hopped through the doorway and took a seat on the bed. Thor looked both ways before closing the door and turning to face me. Thor cleared his throat a little uncomfortably and said,

"So. Uhhh you and Loki?" I laughed and nodded,

"Yeah. Sorry for yesterday. It was Lokis idea." I looked at him apologetically. Thor nodded and sat down on a couch next to the bed.

"How have you been? Sorry I haven't been around that much." I adjusted myself more comfortably on the bed and said,

"I've been pretty good, been spending quite a bit of time with Loki lately..." I saw Thor shift uncomfortably on the couch, and I got curious, "Why do you have such difficulty with Loki and I's relationship?" Thor looked down at the floor,

"Nothing really... It's just that you and Loki are so happy together... and I'm not... I mean..." I nodded and walked over to Thor and gave him a big hug,

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Thor gently hugged me back,

"It's fine. Like you said, you didn't know." I pulled away from Thor and asked to use his bathroom as Loki was hogging ours. I walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, _'Poor Thor. I feel horrible now. I just thought it was the fact that me and Loki were together. I never thought that he could've been lonely, he's so good looking I'm surprised he doesn't have a girlfriend.'_ I sighed and walked over to the sink and rinsed my face to clear my head. I heard raised voices outside the door and quickly opened the bathroom door. Loki and Thor were standing there arguing with each other. Loki turned around and saw me, he rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug. I coughed slightly and he released me, looked me straight in the eyes and said,

"Don't ever do that to me again." I was more than a little confused,

"Wh... what did I do?" Loki shook his head and replied,

"You left without telling me. You had me worried sick about you. You could have been kidnapped or taken or worse." I stared at him with wide eyes, he continued quietly, "I couldn't bear to lose you, Jenny." He pulled me to him in a gentle embrace and I looked up at him. He leaned down and placed a long kiss full of need and love on my lips. I kissed him back but pulled away remembering my conversation with Thor. I led Loki to the bed and we sat down next to each other and Thor resumed his place on the couch. We talked about the upcoming threat and about what we should do to stop oncoming incursion. We talked and talked for hours on end. I sat back and listened, letting the men do the talking. I occasionally put in a idea or voiced my opinion but mostly listened to Thor and Loki strategise. I got up off the bed and walked towards the door, both men said in unison,

"Where are you going?" I turned around and said,

"I'm hungry. I was just going to get some food. You guys looked busy and I didn't want to interrupt anything." Loki stood up and walked over to me,

"Here, I'll walk down to the kitchen with you." Thor stood up too,

"I'll come too, and don't be afraid to ask or interrupt if you need anything. We are here to keep you safe." I looked up at Loki and he rolled his eyes. I punched him in the arm and smiled at Thor. Loki mouthed an 'Ow' and rubbed his arm dramatically. He then opened the doors and all three of us walked out into the hallway. Loki was walking a little ways ahead and Thor and I took up the back, chatting casually. Amongst our chatter Thor told some stories about Loki. Which turned out to be really hilarious. By the end of 10 minutes Thor and I were nearly in tears with laughter. When Loki turned around to ask us what was so funny, we just laughed harder. Thor and I had to stop walking because we were laughing so hard, and Loki just standing there looking completely confused and a little pissed didn't help. When our laughter finally died down into giggles we continued walking. We finally got to the kitchens and I started rummaging around for something to eat. I looked through the fridge to see if there was anything good to eat. I wanted something sweet and I didn't see anything in the fridge. I closed the door, straightened up and turned around to find Loki holding a fresh apple pie in his hand. I sauntered over to him and leaned on his shoulder and casually said,

"So. Feel like sharing?" Loki looked down at me and smirked,

"Maybe. If you're nice to me." I grinned and stood up on my tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek and said,

"I'm always nice to you, babe." He smiled and shrugged,

"Fine. I guess I'll share with you. Go grab some ice cream out of the freezer and I'll grab some spoons." I winked at him and saluted,

"Yessir." He rolled his eyes at me and went to go find some utensils. I skipped back over to the refrigerator feeling unnecessarily happy and took a pint of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. I closed the door, turned and leaned against its smooth metal surface. I sighed happily and smiled, _'I am the happiest girl in the world right now.'_ I thought momentarily before Loki looked over at me and yelled,

"Well, darling, are you coming or not?" I smiled again and ran over to him and took his elbow. I dropped Lokis arm to look around the kitchen to find Thor, I spotted Thor by a set of cabinets and said,

"Hey Thor, are you ready to go yet? My ice cream's going to melt if you don't hurry up." He looked at me and we both laughed. He walked over to where Loki and I were,

"Alright then Jenny, shall we go?" I giggled and all three of us started to walk down the hallway back to Thors room. I suddenly remembered that I was going to grab another bottle of wine for tonight and didn't.

"Oh. I forgot something I was going to grab in the kitchen, can I go back and get it?" Thor said,

"Sure. I'll take the ice cream if you'd like." I handed him the ice cream and thanked him. I turned to go and Loki called after me,

"We'll wait here for you, but be careful!" I waved over my shoulder,

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" I turned and ran back to the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

I walked into the huge room and set two wine glasses on the counter, for me to grab on the way out, before heading toward the wine cellar. I opened the small door and walked down the steps into the small, stuffy room. I flicked the switch on the wall and a single, dim light flickered on. I searched around a bit and settled on a nice looking bottle of red wine. I turned and walked over to the stairs. I was about to flick off the light and head back up the stairs when I heard something move. I whipped around to catch the culprit. There was nothing there. I shrugged it off and turned back around. I ran smack into a tall, bulky man. Luke. I screamed as he grinned and pressed a hand over my mouth,

"Scream all you like, that will draw him to me quicker. Make it easier for me to kill your dearest Loki." I stopped screaming and furrowed my brow in anger. I opened my mouth and bit down hard on his finger, drawing blood. He pulled his hand away from my face and I hit him upside the head with the bottle in my hand. He fell unconscious to the floor and I ran up the stairs. I ran through the kitchen and through the hallways to where Loki and Thor were standing. They both turned once they saw me running and said at the same time,

"What happened?" I stopped in front of them,

"We need to go. Now. I'll explain later, but we need to hurry." I grabbed the brothers sleeves and pulled them swiftly along the corridors back to Thors room. Once we arrived, I secured the doors and collapsed onto the bed, shaking slightly. Loki put down the food he was holding and ran over to me,

"Jenny, are you alright? What happened?" I hugged him tightly and tried to return my heart rate to normal and stop shaking. After a few minutes, I calmed down and Thor and Loki looked at me with a mixture of, worry, concern, confusion and question. Loki asked softly, "Jenny, what happened?" I took a deep breath and re-told my experience in the cellar. Once I was done telling my story, Loki pulled me to him in a soft hug and whispered into my hair, "I'm so sorry. I was stupid to let you go. I didn't know he was so close." I hugged him back,

"It's ok. I'm fine, just a little shaken, that's all." I pulled away from Loki and looked at Thor sitting on the couch, deep in thought. He spoke quietly,

"This should not have happened. We need to figure out a way to stop this. Soon."

We talked for another solid 2 hours, trying to devise a strategy to stop Luke and his cronies without getting killed. Needless to say, we came up with nothing. I had regained my appetite and was now desperately hungry. I looked around and saw the pie still sitting on the table, untouched. I walked over to it and cut myself a slice, I was going to grab some ice cream but realised it was probably melted by now and wasn't really worth it. I sighed and plopped down on the bed next to Loki. Him and Thor stopped talking and looked over at me, who, was currently stuffing my face with pie. I looked over at them, my mouth full and said,

"What?" The brothers exchanged glances and started laughing hysterically. I quickly swallowed the bite of pie I had in my mouth and looked at them, sorely confused, "What's so funny?!" I half-yelled. They both laughed harder and Loki fell backwards onto the bed clutching his sides. I frowned and hit him in the arm, "What's so funny?! I just like pie, okay?!" I yelled. Loki and Thor stopped laughing looked at me for a second and then burst into laughter again. I sighed angrily and glanced from Thor to Loki trying to give them the best death glare I could manage. But after a minute I started to giggle, then I broke into full fledged laughter. Just the sight of them gasping for air and their genuine laughter was enough to make anyone chuckle. So, there we were, all three of us crying with laughter sitting in Thor's room. Some time passed and once we had regained ourselves we decided we were all probably too tired to discuss anything, let alone form a plan to stop the the destruction of Asgard. So Loki and I bid Thor a good night and retired to his room. When Loki closed the door he started to chuckle, I looked at him, "What the hell was so funny back there?" He chuckled again,

"You were laughing too, I thought you knew." I punched him gently in the arm,

"Was just laughing because you and your brother looked like total idiots!" He laughed outright and said,

"You were what was funny. Just sitting there. Eating pie in times of great distress." I shrugged and grinned at him,

"Well, a girl's gotta eat." We both laughed and I went to go find some pajamas. When I came out of the closet I was wearing fuzzy light blue pj pants with little yellow duckies on them and a plain light blue t-shirt to match. "Where'd you get all these clothes and why the hell do you have them?" When he didn't reply I walked over to the bed and sat down next to where Loki was laying down and reading a book. He had taken his shirt off and was just wearing a pair of dark grey sweatpants. I peeked over his shoulder to see what he was reading, "Good book?" He nodded, not taking his eyes off the pages. I sighed and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair before bed. When I came out of the bathroom Loki had changed his position. He was now laying spread eagle across the bed, taking up most of the space. I sighed and put my hands on my hips, "You gonna move?" He grunted but didn't move. I sighed and dropped my hands very over dramatically. I strode over to the bed and rolled him onto his side so that I could lay down. He relaxed all his muscles, going limp and flopped back to his position when I let go of him. "Lokiii..." I groaned, "C'mon please move. I'm really tired and I'm not going to fight with you." He mumbled something intelligible into the bed. I tried to roll him over again but my efforts in the same results as the last time. I huffed angrily at him, "Fine! Don't move then. I'll just go sleep outside. It's probably a lot nicer than you right now." I started to walk towards the balcony doors when a cold hand and long, slender fingers closed around my arm. I turned to see Loki standing in front of me.

"Please stay inside. I'm sorry." I scowled up at him. He sighed and pulled me into a soft hug. I sighed and hugged him back,

"I forgive you, but ya know, sometimes you can be a total edjit." He chuckled softly,

"I know, I can't help it. Sorry." I smiled up at him and we locked lips in a long, warm kiss. When we broke apart we stared into each others eyes for a long while. I yawned and Loki lead me over to the bed. He held up the blanket for me to get in. Just as I was about to he dived under the covers in front of me. I sighed and rolled my eyes, crawling in next to him in the soft bed. I felt him slide into the bed beside me and I snuggled closer to him. He turned towards me and wrapped his arms around me. I curled up against his chest, his soft skin brushing slightly against my cheek felt slightly chilled. Relaxed and felt his chest gently rise and fall with each breath. I listened to the steady sound of his heartbeat and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

I shivered and tried to pull the blanket closer around me, but I couldn't, because the blanket was gone. I rolled over to snuggle with Loki when I realised I was no longer in a bed, and Loki wasn't beside me. My eyes snapped open and I sat bolt upright. I was alone in a small, grey room. There was one tiny window up high on the wall behind me, with bars on it. It was still dark outside and the sky had clouded over and there were no stars, I was sitting in almost complete darkness. I staggered blindly across the room, feeling the walls for any sign of escape or exit. My hand hit what felt like a door handle. I grabbed it with both hands and rattled it violently, no luck. I pounded on the heavy, metal door,

"Let me out!" I screamed, "Loki? Thor? Anyone? Help me!" I yelled and pounded on the door for what felt like hours. I was just about to give up when I heard a pair of footsteps coming towards the door. I backed away slightly and stared at the door, willing it to be Thor or Loki to kick open the door and rescue me. A small window slid open in the door and I saw Luke's face glaring at me.

"Keep it down, some of us are trying to get some sleep." He growled. I sent him a scathing look as I felt the rage building up inside me. I clenched my fists and screamed at him,

"What did you do to Loki?!" Luke laughed darkly,

"Oh, it was very romantic, really. After we drugged you, he fought viciously to save you. He killed three of my best men. That was before I stabbed him, of course. He died protecting you. How sweet." I staggered backwards in shock. He sneered wickedly,

"You're lying!" I yelled, tears starting to well up in my eyes. He laughed,

"No, I killed him myself. Got him right in the stomach." I choked,

"No... no. He... he can't be." He laughed again,

"Well he is." He snarled angrily, "Now shut up and don't make me come down here again." He slammed the little window shut and stomped away. I collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming down my face and great sobs wracking my body. The memories of my time together with Loki came flooding back to me, each flashing through my mind. I cried for hours, never fully stopping for more than a few minutes. Overcome with grief, I cried myself quietly to sleep, just as the first few rays of sun shone palely through the tiny barred window.

I don't know how long I slept but the sun was shining brightly through the window onto my face. My eyes were raw and puffy from crying all night and my body was sore from lying on the cold, concrete floor. I sat up slowly and painfully blinking because of the bright sun. This was the first time I had gotten a clear look at my surroundings and honestly, there wasn't much to see. The entire room was plain, small and entirely made of grey concrete with a small toilet in one corner and no bed. At the sight of the plain room I sunk deeper into my depression, almost bursting into tears again. I dug my nails into the palm of my hands, pure hatred resurfacing. I hear two pairs of heavy footsteps approaching the prison cell. I stood up and faced the door, setting my face in a stone mask. The door swung open to reveal two burly men in guards uniforms standing in the doorway. They walked into the room and we glared at each other. Each grabbed one of my arms and pushed me roughly into the long, empty, silent corridor. One clapped a pair of handcuffs on me and I let them guide me through the maze of hallways. I didn't struggle or fight. I couldn't find the energy, I was barely standing up as it was. My body was suffering from fatigue and grief. I stumbled along as best I could, getting the occasional shove from one of the guardsmen. We finally stopped and my knees gave out and I collapsed to the floor. I heard an amused chuckle a few feet in front of me and looked up,

"Trouble sleeping?" I clenched my teeth lunged towards Luke, taking him by surprise and knocking him over. I pushed myself up and dug a knee into Luke's chest and snarled angrily,

"You... You will pay for what you did. You evil son of a bitch..." The two guards dragged me off of him and back to my feet, holding firmly to each of my shoulders. Luke got up off the floor and brushing himself off. He glared at me and strode towards me in two long steps. I scowled up at him and he brought his hand around and slapped me across the face. My head whipped to the side with the force of the hit, but I soon recovered, shaking my hair out of my face. He hit me again on the other side of my face. Again I recovered fast, not really feeling the full effect of the pain, senses numbed by my rage. He curled his hand into a fist and punched me in the stomach. I doubled over coughing up a little blood. I breathed out slowly and raised my head to look at him, "Is that the worst you can do?" I knew the answer to my question but I didn't really care anymore. The one man that I ever truly loved was dead. Loki was gone. A single tear rolled down my cheek as the guards dropped me on the floor and Luke continued to hit me. I winced every time he kicked me and struggled slightly against my handcuffs, needing to protect myself. After a few minutes he pulled me up by my shoulder and I stood limply in front of him,

"The next time you try to attack or threaten me in any way, your consequences will be worse." I just stood there, not looking up or saying anything. He let go of my arm and I dropped back to the floor. Luke ordered the guards to put me back in my cell and I let myself be dragged back through the winding hallways. The guards threw me back in my room and took my handcuffs off. Once the guards left I made to sit up, I winced and slowly raised myself into a half sitting position. I leaned against the cold wall and tried to inspect my injuries, a few fractured ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a black eye, a split lip, a few bad cuts under my eye, on my stomach and on my left bicep along with many smaller cuts and bruises all over my body. I was a battered and bleeding mess. I groaned and ripped off a sleeve of my shirt and tied it around the worst cut on my arm. I ripped the other sleeve off and gingerly pressed it against any other open wounds. I dabbed at the cut under my eye and looked down at my blood stained pajamas. My shoulder was in pretty bad shape and tried to relocate it. I clenched my teeth and went for it. After a few agonising tries I finally got it back into joint. Hot, salty tears streaked down my face burning at the fresh wounds. I cried silently for a long time, cuts stinging and body shaking. I once again cried myself to sleep that night. Except tonight I ket having nightmares of both my tormentors and Loki torturing and eventually killing me. I woke up several times with a jolt that made me wince. I stayed half-sitting against the cold wall, every move I made sent waves of pain shooting through my body. I took a deep breath and winced at the sharp pain in my ribs. I leaned my head back against the wall and squeezed my eyes shut. A wave of tiredness washed over me and I slowly relaxed. I gave into the fatigue and dreams of my childhood drifted through my head. If I got out of here alive I'd have to ask Lo... oh... I'd have to ask someone about my parents.

I was awoken by two rough hands shaking me violently by the shoulders. I cried out in pain as a gentle hand clapped over my mouth. I opened my eyes but my vision was blurry and I couldn't make out much. I saw a fuzzy blob of blonde hair and a deep voice,

"Shhhh. Jenny, can you walk?" I tried to move and winced at the agony coursing through my body. I squeezed my eyes shut again to hold back the tears forming at the edge of my eyes. I heard the voice sigh and scoop up my broken frame from the cold floor. My eyes were still shut tightly and I had to bite my lip to keep from yelling out in pain. He ran swiftly out of the room and through winding hallways, trying to be as gentle as possible with me. I slowly put two and two together and opened my eyes, blinked a few times to clear my vision and caught a glimpse of a red cape billowing out behind us. I painfully turned my head and looked up at my rescuer, Thor was looking straight ahead, lines of worry creased his broad face. I groaned quietly and managed to grit my teeth and say,

"You shouldn't have come." I hissed at the pain in my ribs as I spoke. Thor set his face in a stern line,

"Hang in there Jenny. Don't give up on me now." A pain in my head hit me like a train and I bit my lip, drawing blood, whimpering in pain. I saw my vision going fuzzy again and I looked up at Thor,

"I..." Thor ran faster jostling my bruised body,

"Jenny! Hold on just a little bit longer!" I heard raised voices behind us and my head fell back, I shut my eyes, thinking, _'This is it. I'm going to die this time. I have nothing left to live for so, hey, why not?'_ My mind went blank and I went limp in Thor's arms as the shouts got louder behind us.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The sunlight burned through my eyelids and I slowly opened my eyes, blinking painfully at the bright light streaming in through the window. I wasn't dead. That meant that I had gotten out of Lukes grasp somehow. I struggled to remember how I had escaped. Memories of my rescue came slowly back to me in vague detail. Thor. Escape. Pain. Shouting. Thor had broken in and taken me here, where ever this was. Jesus. He shouldn't have come. He should have just left me there to starve. I sighed and closed my eyes, counting up the injuries I had. I slowly opened my eyes again and attempted to sit up, leaning on my elbows and pushed myself up into a half sitting position. I took a sharp breath in through clenched teeth, controlling the pain. My shoulder still ached and my ribs were killing me. I looked around the room and realised I was in my own chamber. I leaned back against the headboard and noticed I was once again covered in bandages. I heard a knock on the door and jumped slightly cringing at the pain.

"Come in." I said in a weak voice that didn't sound like me. Thor opened the door and smiled sadly,

"Glad to see you're awake." I looked at Thor,

"Why'd you save me? It was totally idiotic. You could have gotten killed..." Thor interrupted,

"I had to come get you..." I glared at Thor and yelled,

"You should have just left me there to die! Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want to be saved?! Loki is dead and I don't want to be here! I should be dead!" Tears started to roll down my cheeks and Thor looked at me sadly and quietly said,

"I... I'm sorry. I just..." He hung his head, turned and walked away, quietly closing the door behind him. I put my hands up to my face and sobbed. I drifted off to sleep again thinking of Thor's reaction and his few words we exchanged. I was awoken by another knock on the door and I managed to say,

"Come in." In a cracked and broken voice. Thor walked into the room and sat down in a chair by my bed, silently. I took a deep breath and spoke first to ease the tension, "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. I shouldn't have done that, thank you for saving me." Thor sighed and gazed at his feet sadly,

"No. You were partly right. It was a trap for me and I did put all of Asgard in danger, but I had to come save you. I couldn't... I can't... I had to..." I reached my hand out to Thor and he took it. I placed our hands on the bed and squeezed it tightly. He looked up at me and smiled sadly, I smiled back. Thor looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't, and looked down at the ground again. I stared at Thor and said quietly,

"Thor, is there something you want to tell me?" Thor looked up at me his eyes wide. He stuttered and said,

"Well, I... um... I kind of... uh... have... umm... feelings... for... you..." I gasped and stared at Thor, wide eyed and open mouthed. Thor got up off the chair, quickly sliding his hand out of mine and walking briskly out of the room. I stared after Thor, the same shocked look on my face as when he first told me. I slowly closed my mouth and took a deep breath. The words that he had just said running through my scrambled brain. I blinked and sighed, unsure of how to react. I loved Loki, and I always will, but poor Thor. _'Did he really mean it? Could he really love me? Maybe that's why he had such trouble with Loki and I.'_ Questions like these raced unmercifully through my tired head. I closed my eyes and thought wearily to myself, _'I do love Thor, but not in that way. Loki captured my heart and he will always have it. I'm sure Thor could find another woman. He is a prince after all.'_ I slept fitfully that night, a small feeling of guilt tracing deep lines through my head. I don't know why I felt guilty, besides the fact that Thor knew he could never have me. He knew that I loved Loki. I awoke to the smell of breakfast and opened my eyes. A tray with eggs, bacon, toast, fresh fruit and a tall glass of orange juice sat across my legs. I saw Thor sitting in the chair next to the bed. When he saw that I was awake he smiled, I smiled back. I stretched and winced slightly at my ribs, although my shoulder felt much better and the paid had subsided to a dull ache. Thor looked concerned at my state,

"How are you feeling?" I relaxed back into my original position and said,

"Much better. My ribs still hurt quite a bit but my shoulder is okay." Thor let out a small smile,

"That's good." I nodded and picked up my fork, I was starving, seeing as I hadn't eaten in, God knows how long. I happily devoured my breakfast and looked over at Thor,

"How long was I unconscious?" He looked up at me surprised and said quickly,

"Around two days." I nodded,

"What happened to Luke?" Thor's eyes darkened,

"He has gone into hiding, probably sulking at his lack of security." I nodded again,

"What really happened to Loki and why weren't you killed too?" I asked a little colder than I meant to. He sighed and said,

"Luke and a few of his men broke into Loki's room and gave you some sort of sedative. When Loki woke up and found you unconscious in Luke's arms he went mad and tried to kill everyone in sight. He killed all three of Lukes men and he was about to turn and kill Luke too when Luke took out a knife and stabbed Loki in the stomach." He paused for a moment. I looked down at the empty breakfast tray, feeling guilty until Thor continued, "I had gone to visit my father and didn't hear anything until I knocked on Loki's door when I came back. When he didn't answer I opened the door and found both you and Loki gone, with the dead guards on the floor." He stopped and I said,

"Wait. Loki's body was gone?" Thor nodded solemnly. I gasped quietly and looked at Thor astonished, "Thor, that could mean that Loki could still be alive!" Thor looked up at me,

"What?! How?!" I sat fully up, ignoring the pain shooting through my ribs,

"He could have used his magic to create a clone to fool Luke into thinking he was dead!" Thor and I looked at each other and grinned, trying, and failing, not to get our hopes up. The news that Loki could still be out there was just too good to be true, but still, we couldn't stop smiling. We laughed together and, for a moment, I forgot about all my problems. For, in that minute, there was hope.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

I recovered quickly over the next few days. Thor came in to visit me every day but we never said a word about our conversation on the first day. Instead, we tried to figure out where Loki could be hiding. With every suggestion we came up with, we made a list and Thor went to go check each place. He looked all over Asgard, but found no sign of Loki at all. One day, an idea popped into my head and I immediately voiced it to Thor,

"What if Loki doesn't want to be found?" Thor looked at me in surprise,

"Why wouldn't he be?" I shrugged,

"I don't know. It is Loki after all, he's got to have a reason for it." Thor nodded thoughtfully,

"I suppose you could be right. Why don't we take a break from looking for a few days and see what happens?" I sighed deeply and after a few minutes, reluctantly agreed. It was getting kind of late and I still wasn't fully recovered, and getting fairly tired. I yawned and Thor stood up, "I shall leave you to your sleep." He picked up my hand and gently kissed the back of it. I smiled and snuggled into the fluffy duvet of my large bed. I smiled at Thor as he walked out the door, "Sweet dreams Jenny." I closed my eyes and murmured softly,

"Good night Thor." He smiled back at me sadly and closed the door quietly behind him. I slowly drifted off to sleep, thinking of the two princes of Asgard. I was sound asleep when I felt a body sit on the edge of my bed, I sat up and rubbed my eyes open and mumbled sleepily, "Thor, why are you in my room? I'm trying to sleep." When the person didn't answer I dropped my hands from my face and looked in the direction of the dark figure. I saw a faint blue glow seemingly hanging around their neck. I gasped quietly and said breathlessly,

"L... Loki?" I reached for the lamp on my bedside table and turned it on. There was Loki sitting on the edge of my bed grinning at me,

"Hello, darling." I blinked in shock, then reached a hand out to gently touch his face to make sure I wasn't dreaming. My hand rested on his soft cheek. I drew my hand back and slapped him across the face as hard as I could, he held his face in shock. I then jumped out from under the covers and hugged him tightly, burying my face in his hair and said in a voice choked with tears,

"Don't you EVER do that to me again, do you hear?" Loki nodded and I cried softly into his shoulder. He gently stroked my hair and after a while I pulled away from him and looked up at his face. He put a loving hand under my chin and lightly brushed the tears off my cheeks, careful not to touch the cut under my eye. Our lips met in a haze of longing, deep passion, happiness and love. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he gently pulled me over so that I was sitting on his lap with his hands on my waist. We both pulled back for air and I looked into his deep emerald eyes, "Why did you leave me?" I looked down at his chest, "I thought you were dead." Loki put a slender finger under my chin so that I was once again looking into his eyes,

"I'm sorry, I truly am. I had to let everyone, especially Luke, believe that I was dead." I looked at him questioningly,

"But why?" Loki dropped his hand from my chin and looked away from me,

"Because I am a monster. Thor would try to kill me if he knew what I really was. Especially because I put you in danger." I grasped both his hands and moved so that I was looking into his face again,

"Loki, I will always love you no matter what or who you are and nothing you could ever say or do could make me love you less. Now, tell me everything." He looked up at me and gave me a small smile. Loki sighed deeply and started his story,

"Before Luke 'killed' me I had been reading up on the Frost Giants and found out that, during the last great battle between the Jotuns and the Asgardians after Odin killed their king, Laufey, he found that Laufey had a newborn son. He was small for a Frost Giant and Odin couldn't just abandon the child. So he picked it up and brought it back to Asgard, raising the creature as his own son." Here Loki paused and my eyes widened slightly. I looked at him quizzically,

"But I thought that Frost Giants had blue skin." Loki nodded,

"They do, but when exposed to heat for long periods of time their skin turns pale, such as mine or yours." I nodded and Loki continued,

"In my hiding I went to Jotunheim to see if the rumours were true." I interrupted,

"Were they?" Loki nodded sadly,

"I found out that I could control my true form if I choose to." I asked softly,

"Can you show me?" Loki looked up at me shocked,

"Really?" I crawled off his lap, kneeling close beside him and nodded. He looked straight ahead and closed his eyes for a moment. His skin started to turn a deep, icy blue with beautiful patterns tracing over it. He opened his eyes and they were a deep red colour, I gasped slightly and Loki looked at me worriedly,

"You're beautiful." I breathed. He smiled, I put my hand on his cheek surprised at how cold he felt and I kissed him gently on the lips. I felt the chill slowly drain out of him beneath my touch. I pulled back to look at him and saw that he was half in his usual form and half in his Jotun form. I smiled at him and he pulled me back in for another kiss. He gently pushed me back onto the bed and laid down beside me on the bed, "How did you do it?" We laid on our sides staring into each others eyes for a bit until he said,

"Magic. I created a clone to fool Luke, while the real me was invisible and trying to wake you up. When I saw that Luke had killed my clone and was coming to take you away I had no choice but to let him." He touched my face lightly, "I'm sorry I let them hurt you. I never meant for this to happen." I grasped his wrist and intertwined our fingers,

"Will you stay?" Loki gazed at me,

"I will stay for as long as I can, but you cannot let Thor or anyone else know that I am alive. Do you understand?" I nodded a lump forming in my throat,

"Where are you staying? When can I see you?" He brought his hand up to his face and pressed it against his lips softly,

"I can't tell you where I am staying as you can only access it by magic and you cannot come looking for it. I will try to visit you every night." I swallowed hard. I had only just gotten Loki back and now he is saying that I can only see him at night. I swallowed again, trying to dissolve the lump in my throat.

"Why do you have to hide? I don't understand how you could be dangerous." Loki sighed and pressed his forehead to our interlocked hands,

"I am a Jotun but also prince of Asgard. I am just another stolen relic. If anyone ever finds out what I am, I will not be welcome here." I let out a tiny sob and huddled closer to Loki,

"I love you Loki. Please don't ever leave me again." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head,

"You have no need to cry. I promise I won't ever leave you like that again. I love you too Jenny. Always and forever." I couldn't help but cry, at the tidal wave of emotions washing over me at that moment. I just laid there, crying softly, Loki's arms wrapped tightly around me and him murmuring to me softly. The sound of his voice seemed to calm me down and I moved my head against his chest. I felt the vibrations of his deep voice echoing around in his chest. I smiled, happy to finally have my Loki back, I looked up at him and he brushed a spare piece of hair out of my face. He smiled at me and whispered,

"Thank you." I gazed into his pale face,

"You're welcome, my love." We grinned happily at each other and leaned in for a long kiss. I knotted my fingers in his hair pulling him down into the kiss, each of us drowning in the others company. I pulled away and I rested my forehead on his, my eyes slowly fluttering closed, never wanting the moment to end, I tried to fight the sleep. But before long I had fallen fast asleep.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

When I woke up Loki was gone but there was a note folded on his pillow. I smiled, sat up and unfolded the note. It read,

_"Good morning darling, _

_I'm sorry I had to leave you but I would be putting you in danger if I were to stay here. I hope you're feeling better, I tried to help your injuries along a little bit. Meet me on the sunset hill this evening at 9. I will make sure no harm comes to you on the way there, but walk swiftly. Thor will be coming in to see you any minute now. Please don't let him see this note. I love you._

_See you tonight,_

~ _Loki."_

I smiled down at the paper and folded up the note. Stowing it safely away under my pillow. As soon as I turned around there was a knock on the door. I jumped and told them to come in. Thor walked in smiling brightly and I grinned to myself. Thor had brought me some breakfast and I appreciatively accepted it. After I had finished eating and thanked him for breakfast I glanced over at Thor and asked,

"Thor, what do you know about the Frost Giants?" Thor looked at me curiously,

"Enough. Why do you ask?" I shrugged slightly,

"I dunno. Just curious, really." He seemed to focus on a spot on the opposite wall for a long time, his features darkening before he finally started,

"The Frost Giants are a mighty race which dwell among the icy wasteland of Jotunheim. They declared war with Asgard a long time ago, when I was a very, very young child." He paused for a minute and I nodded. He continued his face clouding over again, "They are cold blooded murderers, but after father killed their king, Laufey, we organised a peace treaty between our kingdoms. We are still enemies, but we have not been bothered by them for a long time." I nodded slowly,

"Why does everyone hate them so much if they haven't bothered you in over a century? They must've been provoked to launch an attack on the city of Gods..." my voice trailed off as I faded into deep thought. Thor spoke and snapped my out of my daze,

"Everyone hates them because of the things they said against us and the numbers they killed in the great war, over 70 thousand men died in those few months." I looked at him,

"But why have the war in the first place? Unless Asgard attacked first because they were saying things against us. But if that's the case, it seems sort of childish that a king would attack a weaker nation because of a few bad words said against his people. Not to mention, there must've been a reason behind their hate towards Asgard. " Thor laughed bitterly,

"More than a few words were said against our people." I sighed, not seeming to be able to make a point. If only Thor could try to see things from the Frost Giants point of view and not be so damn stubborn. I decided to lay it out clearly for him,

"But why was the war started?" Thor said angrily,

"The Frost Giants attacked first." I said again,

"What was their reason behind it?" Thor shrugged,

"I don't know." He seemed to be thinking a little more clearly about things,

"Ok, so, why does everyone hate them so much if no one really knows the true reason behind the war?" Thor shrugged again,

"I... I don't know." I nodded,

"Exactly. So there's really no need to hate them, is there?" Thor slowly shook his head,

"No. Not really." I smiled triumphantly,

"Good. I'm glad we agree." Thor looked at me astonished for a moment, smiled and then hugged me gently as he could,

"Thank you Jenny, you just showed me a whole different angle on the Jotuns! I'm going to go speak with father about this!" I laughed,

"Ok, but choose your words carefully!" I yelled after him as he ran out the door. He turned and waved, before closing the door,

"Don't worry, I will!" Once he left I laughed and carefully pushed myself out of bed. I was feeling great and not even my ribs hurt much anymore. I shakily stood up and walked around the room a bit, getting used to my legs again. Once I could walk normally, I looked in the closet for something to wear. I smiled and picked out the dress I wore the first time I officially met Loki for more than 5 seconds. I put it on and spun around. I walked onto the balcony to get some fresh air after being cooped up for so long. I opened the doors and was hit with a brisk breeze, took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I dropped my hands from the door handles to my sides and slowly opened my eyes. I stepped out onto the balcony and looked out over the courtyard, to the hill where the two brothers and I first spent some real time together. I smiled, I couldn't wait to see Loki again tonight. I was very lonely without him and I didn't really know what to do with myself. I was kind of scared to walk around the palace without some sort of protector just in case I got kidnapped again. I just sat outside on the balcony watching the people stroll through the courtyard below me. A chill breeze sprung up and I shivered slightly, I decided to go inside and warm up a bit. I walked back into my room and shut the doors behind me and started to hum. I started to sing and dance around the room, pretty soon I was belting out random songs from nearly every Disney movie I know. I took one last spin around and stopped, slightly panting, I saw Thor standing in the doorway staring at me with his mouth wide open. I blushed, embarrassed and asked,

"How long have you been standing there?" He just looked at me for a few seconds before I waved my hand in front of his face. He jumped and said,

"I... uh you have a really pretty voice." I laughed and said,

"Thanks. You weren't technically supposed to hear me..." It was Thor's turn to blush,

"Oh. Sorry. I just heard singing and I was coming to check on you anyways, and you looked so happy singing and dancing that I didn't want to interrupt..." I smiled,

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed." I gave a small curtsey and grinned up at him. We both laughed and he said,

"Do you want to go walk around a bit? I figured you have been inside for so long that you could use some fresh air." I nodded gratefully and replied,

"Yes please. I feel like I've been cooped up in here for ages!" He offered his arm and I took it and we walked outside. I looked around, still slightly awed by the gorgeous scenery in Asgard, I took a deep breath, savouring the crisp smell of oncoming autumn. It was almost September and fall was clearly in the air. The wind swirled gently around us and my long hair was all over the place. Thor stopped walking and I pulled my hair out of my face and turned to look at Thor, curious as to why we stopped walking. He grabbed my by the waist and pulled me into him. I was shocked for a moment before gently pulling away from him,

"I'm sorry Thor, I can't." I looked down and away from him. He sighed and looked out over the wide field,

"I'm sorry. I know. I just..." He sighed deeply and walked away. I watched him go and sat down cross-legged in the tall grass and put my face in my hands. I softly mumbled,

"Loki, I know you can hear me so come sit with me please. I need you." I felt a pair a strong arms wrap around me and Loki appeared next to me. He put his head on my shoulder and whispered,

"You did the right thing." I hugged him and buried my face in his chest,

"Can't I just come stay with you for a while? Please?" Loki sighed,

"We'll see. We'll have to find an excuse for your absence if you do come to stay with me for a bit." I looked up at him and grinned,

"We could just say I ran off because I was convinced my true love was still out there and not dead." We both laughed and laid back in the tall, swaying coarse grass. We held hands and made shapes out of the white, fluffy clouds drifting across the sky. We caught each others gaze and leaned in for a kiss. I pulled away,

"Do you still want me to meet you on the hill tonight?" Loki nodded and brushed a stray piece of hair out of my face, "

"Don't eat dinner, I have a surprise for you." I smiled excitedly and asked,

"Oh, what is it?" He grinned,

"Well, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise would it?" I groaned,

"Aww c'mon Lokii." He grinned wider,

"Nope. Whining won't get you anywhere. You'll just have to wait and see." I punched him gently,

"Fine then. But only for you." He pinched me on the arm and kissed me again. I smiled, knotting my fingers into his hair and deepening the kiss. When we pulled apart we laid on our sides, embraced in each others arms, just looking into one another's eyes. We both smiled at each other, knowing that it was true love and nothing could pull us apart. I heard a voice and Loki kissed me softly on the forehead,

"Pretend to be asleep. I'll see you tonight, darling." I whispered a good bye as I watched him disappear, I closed my eyes and did as Loki instructed. Thor approached and I sat up and stretched, pretending to wake up. Thor breathed a sigh of relief,

"Oh thank Odin. I thought you had been kidnapped again." I smiled up at him,

"Nope. I guess I just got kinda tired and fell asleep." Thor smiled,

"Well that's good. The sun is starting to go down, we should go back inside." I nodded as Thor offered a hand to help me up. I took it and he nearly pulled me off my feet, I let out a little, 'Oh!' and Thor laughed, "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." I shook my head,

"You're fine. I just wasn't expecting it." We walked back in silence, me smiling to myself anxious to know what Loki had planned for tonight and Thor in deep thought about something or another. I asked if I could stop by the library to grab a book or two to read in my spare time. Thor agreed and said he'd go with me, we walked to the library and I looked around to see if they had any books from Earth. I searched around a bit before I found Hamlet by Shakespeare and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Some classics but I never got tired of reading them. I smiled and decided I might bring Hamlet with me tonight and get Loki to read me some of it. I returned to Thor with my books and he asked,

"Would you like to eat dinner with me in the dining hall?" I shook my head,

"No thank you. I'm not very hungry tonight. Thanks for the offer though." He nodded,

"Of course, here, I'll walk you back to your room."


	19. Chapter 18

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 18/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 48.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I sat in my room and read, waiting, not-so-patiently, for 9 o'clock to come around. I looked at the clock on the wall, '8:30' it read, I sighed and tried to continue reading. After I finished the chapter I was on I checked the clock again, '8:45.' I grinned, marked the page I was on and decided to make my way there. I found a black leather jacket and slipped it on, I looked at myself in the mirror and nodded, 'Hm. Not bad, the jacket actually goes with the dress.' I thought. I grabbed Hamlet from the foot of the bed and headed out. I checked both ways down the long hallway to make sure that Thor or anyone else wasn't anywhere to be seen. Nobody seemed to be about so I snuck outside as quietly as I could. I walked quickly across the courtyard, trying not to run because I was so excited. I climbed up the hill and saw Loki standing at the top. I ran over to him and hugged him, in return, he picked me up and swung me around. I laughed as he put me down and we kissed. With our arms still wrapped around each other I looked up at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""So, what have you got planned for this evening?" He grinned and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You'll see..." He chuckled, pulled away from me and took my hand, "Come on, let's go." He started to pull me back down the hill, I yelled after him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wait! Where are we going?" He looked back at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Just trust me, come on!" I sighed dramatically and let him pull me away. We headed into the forest and he slowed his pace so that I could walk next to him, he created a ball of light and pushed it out in front of us slightly. I gazed at the sphere of light, still mesmerised, and said randomly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Why'd you ask me not to eat dinner? I'm getting hungry." Loki looked down at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Because I have a surprise for you. I think you'll like it and decide it was worth the wait." I sent him a curious glance and he just smirked at me. I rolled my eyes and he removed his hand from mine and wrapped it around my waist instead. I grinned and he said, "I like your jacket by the way." I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey thanks! I picked it out just for you, you know." He grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh? How kind of you. Very kinky." I pushed him off to the side, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oi! Don't get cocky, or I'll make sure you're actually dead this time!" Loki laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh yeah? Prove it." I jumped at him and tried to tackle him. He spun me around and pinned me by the wrists to a tree behind me. I gasped and he chuckled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oohh I'm so scared." I struggled against his grip and he held me tighter as he took a step closer to me, our bodies just touching. He leaned his head closer to mine and breathed into my ear, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Tell me you love me." I struggled against his cold fingers again and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki you're hurting me. Let go." He loosened his grip ever so slightly but didn't move and said again, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Just tell me that you love me. Please." I turned my head to look at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki you know that I'll always love you." Loki looked into my eyes sadly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Please. I need to hear you say it." I nodded and whispered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you." He let go of my wrists and I stumbled forward slightly, into his arms, he hugged me gently, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm sorry if I scared you at all. I just needed to hear you say that." I looked up at him and said quietly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh Loki, you could've just asked and I would have told you anything you wanted to hear." He gave me a small smile and said softly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Shall we keep going? We're almost there." I nodded and he offered me his hand, I took it and I leaned in close to him, wondering what could have come over him. I decided to break the awkward silence between us with a question, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Did you miss me?" He looked down at me in surprise, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course I did. Not a minute went by when I wasn't thinking about you." I smiled slightly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Maybe a little too much?" He glanced at quizzically and I elaborated, "What happened back there Loki?" He sighed and looked at the ground, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I... I don't know. I just needed to hear you say that you loved me and..." His voice trailed off, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I understand. I think you just got lonely is all. You were so alone before and then you had to leave the one you love and that must've been hard. I know it was for me." He nodded and I squeezed his hand tightly and said softly, "Don't worry, we're together again, now and we have tonight so let's make the most of it." We looked at each other and grinned. Loki looked ahead and suddenly said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""We're here." I gasped, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh Loki... It's so beautiful!" There in front of us in a wide clearing was a properly set candlelight supper for two. It was truly breathtaking. We unclasped our hands and I stared up at Loki, "How did you manage it?" Loki waved his hands in a small flourish and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Magic." We both giggled as he lead me to my seat and pulled it out for me. I curtsied to him and sat down, he bowed and went to go take his own seat. He poured us each a glass of wine and the first course appeared on the table, I gasped quietly as the food appeared and delicious smells drifted to my nose. He laughed and started to eat, I followed shortly after as I was starving. We talked and talked and before we knew it had finished a full 5-course meal and were sitting comfortably in our chairs. We talked for a little bit longer until Loki stood up and said, "Do you want to see where I'm staying?" I nodded and stood up too, I took his hand and as soon as I did we had teleported into a large room with a big bed, an even bigger bookcase, a medium sized writing desk and no windows. There were two doors in the far wall, one the bathroom and one the closet. I looked around in awe taking in every detail of the elegant room, the dark green rug, bedspread and even the chair at the desk had a green velvet seat. The white walls which contrasted starkly with the darker themed room and the papers scattered haphazardly around on the desk. There were also some... drawings? Of me? There were several drawings of me hung above the desk. Some of which I remembered doing and others that I was unconscious of doing i.e. one of me laughing, one of me sleeping, even one of me singing in the shower. I blushed at the last one and so did Loki. I walked over to the sketches he had hung up, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki, these are..." He tensed up waiting for my reaction, "Amazing." I finished breathlessly. He breathed out, relieved and then smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm glad you like them. I'm afraid they don't come as close to beauty as in real life." He walked across the room so that he was directly behind me, he draped his arms around my shoulders and I tilted my head back to look at them, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love them. You're such an amazing artist." I pointed to the one of me in the shower, "Even that one I suppose." We both laughed and just stood looking at the drawings for a while. Then Loki slid his hand inside my jacket and pulled out Hamlet, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What's this?" He asked teasingly. I blushed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well... um... I was kind of hoping that you might read some of it to me..." Loki grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""As you wish." He strode over to the bed and flopped down onto it, he patted the spot beside him as an invitation. I slid out of my jacket and placed it on the back of the chair and ran across the room, jumping onto the bed beside Loki. He laughed and I snuggled up next to him. He opened up the book and started to read, a British accent weaving its way into his smooth voice. I leaned my head against his shoulder and listened to him read. He seemed to really enjoy Shakespeare and wondered if he read many of his works. I myself really liked Shakespeare and had read a few of his plays, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth and such. I started to get drowsy, and before I knew it I was nodding off to sleep with Loki's voice reading to me softly in the background, throwing me deeper into my dreams. The next thing I remember is Loki gently shaking me awake, "Come on Jen, you can't stay here, I'll take you back to your own bed so you can get a better night's sleep. I mumbled something about not wanting to leave or stay here forever or something but Loki just sighed, scooped me up and teleported into my room and laid me down on my bed. He kissed me softly on the forehead and whispered, "Sweet dreams, my dearest." I gave him a small smile before slipping back into sleep./span/p 


	20. Chapter 19

p style="text-align: center;"strongspan style="text-decoration: underline;"Chapter 19/span/strong/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 48.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I opened my eyes to find myself back in my own bed. I smiled, yawned and stretched. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I saw a piece of paper on the pillow next to me. I picked it up and read it,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"em"I had an incredible time last night, I hope you did too. I'll see you again soon. I love you./em/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"em~ Loki"/em/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I smiled and folded up the paper, tucking it safely under my pillow with the other note. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and headed for a shower. I turned on the water and stripped off my clothes. I stepped in under the hot water, letting it cascade over my body. I tilted my head back and grabbed some shampoo. I had just finished rinsing my hair when I heard something get knocked over outside the shower. I jumped and thought for a second,em 'The drawings...' /emI grinned and sighed, em'Loki, you little shit...' /emI thought as I peeked my head out of the shower, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You know you could've just said something instead of sneaking about and being a clumsy fool." Sure enough Loki appeared and looked sheepishly down at the floor, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Sorry, I didn't want to frighten you." I laughed and said, "/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, you'll have to try harder next time." He looked at me and said resentfully, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I am not a clumsy fool." I laughed again and went to continue my shower. The next thing I knew, Loki had his arms around me waist and we were standing in the shower naked. I turned around slowly and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Um excuse me, I was trying to take a shower here..." He grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I can help with that." I grinned back at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh, I'm sure you can, but who says I want you to?" He raised an eyebrow slightly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Who says you don't." I reached up and put my arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Fine. I'll let you wash my back. How's that for you?" He quirked his eyebrows and I sighed, "Ugh. Fiine, jeez." He smiled and kissed me. I turned back around and passed the soap to him over my shoulder. I rinsed off and turned the water off, I turned to look at Loki as he handed me a towel. I dried off and wrapped the fluffy towel around me, he did likewise and wrapped it around his waist. He brushed my wet hair out of my face and kissed me softly, his lips always seemed to taste faintly minty and I smiled into the kiss. He pulled back and rested his arms on my shoulders, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're beautiful." He said quietly. I smiled up at him, and gave him a tight hug, resting my head on his chest. He ran his hand through my hair softly, gently untangling any knots he found with his slender fingers. I murmured to him softly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki, I have to go get dressed." He moaned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Must you? I wish you could just stay here with me forever." I hugged him tighter, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Mmm. I do too, love." He put his hands on my shoulder and pushed me back slightly so that I was looking at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Run away with me Jenny." I looked at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course I will, but how?" Loki looked down, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I don't know yet. But I do know that need you with me and I can't live without you." I opened my mouth to say something but before I had the chance his tongue invaded my mouth in a long kiss. When we pulled apart for breath he said, "I'll find a way." Then, without warning he walked out of the bathroom and disappeared. I sighed and walked into the closet and picked out a tight t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I was kind of surprised that they were in there because they were typically Midgard clothes. I guessed Loki had something to do with it. I laid down on the bed and picked up my book. I opened up to the chapter I was on and was immediately absorbed into the world of Middle Earth and joined the quests of Thorin Oakenshield and Co. to slay a dragon and reclaim what was once ours. It was nearly dark out and I had almost finished the book, when a knock came on the door. I jumped and dog-eared my page and closed the book. I got up to go open the door and welcomed Thor into my room, he was really quiet which struck me as odd. He plopped down in a chair and put his head in his hands, I ran over to him and knelt down in front of him, a hand on his knee. He was crying softly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thor, what happened? Are you hurt? Tell me everything." Thor looked up at me, his eyes slightly puffy and red, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's father... he... he's very sick... and mother doesn't know if he'll make it." I gasped and my eyes started to well up with tears. I hugged Thor tightly and we both sat there for a while crying into each others arms. I liked Odin, I really did. He had an amazing amount of pride in his two sons and loved them both very much. Thor and I wiped our eyes and composed ourselves, in a small voice I said,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Can we go see him?" Thor nodded and we both stood up, I grabbed a pair of dark green high top converse from the closet and pulled them on. I took Thors hand and we proceeded out of my room to where the Allfather was resting. We entered the room quietly and dropped hands, the Allfather was on a bed with a golden light surrounding him. A woman was sitting in a chair by Odin's bedside holding his hand. When she saw us enter she stood up and walked over to us, she took my hand and smiled warmly at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""My name is Frigga, Queen of Asgard. I've heard many stories about you." I smiled back, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's an honour to meet you, I just wish it could be under different circumstances." She nodded and looked back at Odin, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Come. He's doing much better than last night and he's been asking for you." My eyes widened, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""For me? But why?" She shook her head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I do not know but he has something very important to say to you." I followed her over to Odins bedside, she gently spoke to him, "Darling, Jenny is here to see you." His eyes opened slightly and he weakly took my hand and pulled me closer to his face so I could hear him. He whispered so that only I could hear him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Tell Loki, I'm sorry." I nodded and whispered back, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I will." He smiled and slipped back into unconsciousness. I held onto Odin's hand a bit longer before stepping back and letting Thor be with him for a while. A tear slid down my cheek as I watched Thor and Frigga gently talk to him even though they knew he wouldn't answer. Both of them letting tears roll down their tired faces. I turned away from them and paced back and forth, hugging my arms closer to my body, the tears cascading silently down my face. I murmured something about going back to my room to Frigga and Thor, they nodded and I left the room. It was dark by now and it was chilly in the hallway, I rubbed my arms with my hands quickly and hurried back to my room. When I got there I untied my shoes and flopped onto the bed, face down, exhausted. I sniffled and flipped onto my back, feeling my eyelids getting weighed down with sleep. My eyes closed and I before I knew it I was sleeping soundly./span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I felt Loki crawl into bed next to me and snake his arms around my hips. I rolled over so that I was facing him and opened my eyes. He smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey babe." I couldn't bring myself to smile back at him, as much as I wanted to. I just looked at him with a miserable expression on my face. His smile faded fast, "What's wrong?" I felt a lump forming in my throat, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki, it's... it's your father. He's dying." His face changed from shock to sadness to anger in a matter of seconds, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good. He deserves to die. All those year of living in my favoured brother's shadow. He could have just told me what I was from the beginning. Told me that I could never be king..." As he talked the anger became more apparent in his voice, his skin starting to turn blue, those intricate patterns creeping onto his face and his eyes transforming into a dark red. I swallowed hard and put my hand on his cheek, slowly tracing his defined cheekbone with my thumb, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""He wanted me to tell you something." Loki focused his icy gaze on me, the hatred and rage still clear in his eyes. I said quietly, "He said, "I'm sorry."" His anger faded slightly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""He knows I'm alive?" I nodded slowly, unsure of what he was going to do next. Loki shook his head as the blue slowly seeped out of his skin and he returned to normal, "I... I don't understand. He knows what I am, he's always known that there was a chance I'd find out. And yet..." His voice faded out and he looked as if he was about to cry. I pulled him closer to me and rested my forehead against his and whispered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Because he loves you Loki. He may not be your real father but he loves you and cares for you as his own son." Loki looked at me with big, sad eyes as a tear slid down his cheek. I hugged him tightly and he started to cry. I gently brushed my fingers through his hair and tried to provide him with as much comfort as I could. He cried for a long time and I let him. I figured he had been bottling up all those feelings for a very long while and needed a good cry. Once he had calmed down enough to stop crying he looked at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you Jenny." I brushed a piece of hair back from his face and flashed him a quick smile, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I know." I whispered and kissed him on the nose. He smiled at me and met my lips in a passionate kiss, I let myself be swept away by his touch. He slid a hand under my shirt and rested it on my stomach, I moaned quietly into his mouth and tugged at the hem of his shirt. We broke apart for a moment so that he could sit up and take his shirt off. I grinned at him as he tossed his shirt off to the side, he grinned back and slid my shirt off. Before I knew it he was on top of me pressing tiny kisses on my stomach and neck. I moaned as he kissed me, each small kiss sending me deeper into euphoria. After a while he pulled back and rolled onto his back, panting slightly. I flipped onto my side and moved so that I had my head on his chest and a hand on his stomach. I sighed happily and he stroked my hair softly, his breathing slowly returning to normal. I yawned and started to close my eyes, before I fell asleep I murmured to Loki, "Do you know anything about my life before you rescued me?" Loki looked down at me curiously, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No, why do you ask?" I turned looked up at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Could you find out what happened to my parents for me?" Loki smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Why don't we do it together. Come with me this night next week and we can be together and find out about your family together." I sat up and looked at him with wide eyes, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Really? But what about Odin and Thor and Frigga? Won't they notice I'm missing?" Loki grinned slyly and propped himself up on his elbows, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""They might. But who cares about them? You've got me." I sat all the way up,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I happen to care about them, a lot. Thor helped me with everything when you decided to play dead. He also was there for me when I first got here and you, sir, were no where to be seen. What about Odin and Frigga? Do you not care for them at all?" Loki had sat all the way up now and was smirking at me, seemingly very amused, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're really sexy when you're angry." I clenched my fists and tried to keep from punching him in the nose, instead I just yelled at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Stop it! Just stop it! You have no respect for anyone but yourself and if you think I'm just going to leave my friends with no warning and run away with a cocky, disrespectful bastard like you than you're wrong!" With that, Loki got up off the bed and spat angrily, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well then, if that's really how you feel, then I guess I'll just leave! Let's see how you like that!" I glared at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Fine! It's not like it's the first time!" He glared back at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Fine!" He stormed over to pick up his shirt and disappeared. I let out a deep breath as my anger dissipated and I suddenly felt utterly exhausted. I slid off my jeans and climbed under the covers, unable to think of anything but sleep. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, I slept fitfully that night, unable to get Loki out of my mind. I tossed and turned and kept waking up within 3 hour intervals. I sighed and just as the sun started to turn the sly pink I was finally able to get some real sleep. It was around 3 p.m. when I woke up again, I sat up and stretched. The events of last night came rushing back to me, the fight between Loki and I, me saying that I didn't want to run away with him, me telling him to leave, him leaving. The more I remembered, the more my heart started to sink and the more I regretted saying anything and the larger the lump got in my throat. I laid back down and started to sob into my pillow. I cried and cried, beating myself up for being so stupid and selfish. Between sobs I called out Loki's name, begging him to come back and apologizing to him over and over again. After an hour and a half I had finished crying but I felt horrible and terribly guilty. I slid wearily off the bed and went to go take a hot bath to try and make me feel better. I soaked in the hot water and bubbles until it was cold and I felt completely waterlogged. My head and heart were still no better, I still felt guilty as sin and a total idiot for telling Loki off. em'I love the man for Christ's sake, I could at least try to be a little more understanding.'/em I was fighting a loosing battle in my head and I had a massive headache. I threw on a bathrobe and sunk into bed again, staring forlornly at the ceiling, unable to do anything else. I was sinking deeper into a self-loathing, depression with every hour. Whenever Thor or anyone else knocked on the door I told them to go away and leave me alone. I didn't eat, I barely slept and I didn't get out of bed. I grew thinner and paler every day and there was rarely a day I didn't spend crying and wallowing in self-hatred. One day I finally brought myself to get out of bed and drag myself to the shower, it took immense effort but I couldn't stand myself anymore. When I got out of the shower I looked into the mirror and saw a deathly skinny, pale girl staring back at me. I had turned into the one person I promised myself I never would become. Rage boiled up inside me and I felt strength building up in my body, I clenched my fist and punched the mirror hard so that it shattered and fell to the floor in a thousand shards all around me. My knees gave out and I fell to the floor, cutting my hands, feet and knees. Crying out at the pain shooting through my hands and legs, I sobbed miserably, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm so sorry Loki. I never meant any of it. You are the only man I will ever truly love." I hung my head and saw the bright red liquid forming around me, I lifted one of my hands to look at it and streams of blood ran down my arm. I gasped and saw my vision going, my elbow buckled and I fell all the way to the ground. I saw a puddle of my own blood start to form around me and I breathed out weakly, "Please forgive me." I slipped into unconsciousness unable to move anymore and bleeding profusely all over the bathroom floor./span/p 


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

When I regained consciousness I was in a hospital bed, once again, and my hands, knees and feet were wrapped in white bandages. My hands and feet were throbbing and my vision was wavering in and out. I breathed out weakly,

"Loki." I murmured. A body shifted somewhere close beside me, a hand brushed my hair back from my forehead. I turned my head towards the movement and saw Loki gazing at me worriedly. I smiled at him relieved and said, "I... I'm sorry. I just..." He smiled tiredly,

"Shh. It's ok, I forgive you. Don't speak now, you're very weak. Get some rest and I'll talk to you soon." I smiled weakly at him and he smiled back. He started to stand up and walk away, I reached up and grabbed his hand,

"Please stay." He looked at me and sighed. Loki bent down to kiss my forehead,

"For only a little while longer." I smiled at him,

"Thank you." He sat back down and rested his head on my arm. I looked at him once again and faded off to sleep. I jolted awake a short scream escaping my mouth. Loki immediately sat up, reflexed primed, ready for action. He looked at me and his gaze filled with surprise and worry,

"Jenny, are you alright?" I took deep breaths and nodded unsurely,

"I... I think so. It was just a nightmare. It just seemed so real. Sorry." I sighed and laid back down on the bed, still breathing heavily and sweating slightly. I was surprised to feel the back of Loki's hand pressing against my sweaty forehead, taking my temperature. His face darkened,

"You feel like you're running very warm, are you sure you're all right?" I nodded, more definitely this time, but I was still shaking and the sweat was cooling on my skin, making me shiver. I looked towards Loki,

"Would you be able to get me a glass of water?" He nodded,

"Of course. I'll be right back." I smiled reassuringly at him,

"Thank you darling." He smiled back worriedly, apparently unconvinced by my cover up. As soon as he went into the bathroom I let out a deep sigh, _'I really need to stop having these stupid nightmares.' _I thought frustratedly. I had always had nightmares for as long as I can remember. Who hasn't, right? But these were different, these dreams were so vivid it was as if they were reality. Loki walked back into the room and broke my concentration. He was holding a short glass of water and handed it to me carefully,

"Are you able to hold it?" I curled my fingers around the glass and held it with both hands. I raised the cup to my lips and took a small sip. The water was cold and refreshing and I sighed happily after gulping the rest of it down. I looked up at Loki,

"Thank you, I feel much better now." He smiled and bent down to kiss me on the cheek,

"That's good. I've got to leave now, so don't got into any trouble while I'm gone." He gave me a quirky half smile and I grinned at him,

"Of course not. You know me." He waved and turned to go,

"I'll see you later babe!" I waved good-bye and fell swiftly asleep.

I opened my eyes feeling well-rested and refreshed. I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. I dropped my arms back onto the bed and looked down at my hands, _'Well, at least they don't hurt as much as they did.'_ My stomach rumbled loudly and I realised I probably hadn't eaten in a few days. I threw off the blankets and swung my legs over the side of the bed and sighed frustratedly. _'How do I always manage to get myself into these messes?_' I thought and carefully unwrapped the bandages on my knees, bending them slightly to make sure the wounds didn't re-open and start bleeding. Once I had made sure that my knees were fine, I tried putting some pressure on my feet. I didn't bother taking the bandages off as I figured they would act as some sort of protection. I slowly stood up, holding on to the bed for support. I took a few steps, a steady ache starting to spread through my feet. I took a deep breath and looked around the room, suddenly realising I didn't know where I was. I groaned, quite annoyed, and looked for something that resembled a wardrobe so I could find some clothes. I spotted a small pair of doors on the other side of the room and hobbled over to them. I opened the doors and sighed, greatly relieved to find a small range of clothing in the closet. I grabbed a pair of loose sweatpants and a soft, tight fitting pale orange t-shirt. I couldn't find any shoes, so I just shrugged and limped towards the door. I slowly opened a door and looked both ways down the corridor. It looked like every other hallway around here, I sighed and tried going right first. After a short walk I came to the kitchens and navigated my way to one of the dining rooms. Thor and Frigga sat on either side of the table eating, _'Lunch?'_ and talking quietly. They both stood up and walked over to me when they saw me enter the room. Frigga hugged me tightly and said in a very motherly way,

"Oh, I'm so glad you're alright dear, we were so worried about you!" I just nodded a little shocked and gently hugged her back. Thor was looking at me worriedly and I tried to smile reassuringly at him. He gave me a half smile back and I gently disentangled myself from Frigga's hug. Thor cleared his throat and said,

"Mother, don't you think Jenny is a little hungry as she has been unconscious for nearly four days?" My eyes widened as I looked up at Thor,

"Four days? Really?" He nodded and I looked back to Frigga. She quickly said,

"Of course! You must be starving! Come, let's get you some breakfast." I smiled warmly at her,

"Thank you." I threw Thor a grateful sideways glance and he smiled in return. I started to limp towards the table when Thor appeared beside me and offered me his arm, I took it gratefully and leaned heavily on him the rest of the way to my seat. When I had sat down and had got some food into me, I started to ask some questions. "What happened while I was out?" I asked, my mouth full of poptart. Frigga and Thor exchanged glances. Thor finally spoke up,

"Well, Luke seems to have mysteriously disappeared and um... so have all of his followers." I tilted my head thoughtfully,

"Huh. That's weird." Only one answer popped into my head, _'Loki.'_ Both of them nodded. I finished my poptart and took a bite of my scrambled eggs, "How's Odin doing?" Frigga smiled happily,

"Much better. He seems to be a lot happier now than he was a few days ago." My heart fluttered and I smiled,

"Well, that's great!" I exclaimed happily. Thor and Frigga exchanged worried glances again and Frigga asked delicately,

"So, honey, what happened before you broke your mirror? No one saw you for days before that." I coughed awkwardly,

"Well... uh you see..." I wracked my brain trying to find a decent excuse for my sociopathic behaviour earlier on. An idea wormed its way into my head, "I... um wasn't feeling very well and I wasn't able to get out of bed." It wasn't a complete lie, yet it wasn't the whole truth either. She looked at me worriedly,

"We could have gotten you a doctor or something if you had told us." I shook my head,

"I guess I just needed some alone time to recover." I smiled apologetically at the two and they each flashed me a small smile. I ate my fill and leaned back in my chair, feeling extremely full. I sighed contentedly and patted my stomach, "Breakfast was amazing, just what I needed. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I'd like to go back to my own room and rest for a little bit." They both nodded and Thor stood up,

"Would you like me to walk you back?" I shook my head politely,

"No thank you. I think I can manage." I smiled and stood up, "Thanks again for breakfast!" I tried to walk normally out the door, ignoring the pain heightening in my feet. I limped slightly to the massive doors and turned around and said cheerily, "Talk to you later!" They both waved and I waved back. Once I had gotten out of sight and earshot of the doorway I leaned against the wall and let out a sharp gasp at the steadily growing pain in my feet that was slowly creeping up my legs. I felt an arm snake around my waist,

"Need any help there, darling." I turned my head to see Loki standing behind me, grinning wildly. I turned my attention front again,

"I think I can manage on my own." I felt his arm tighten around me,

"Oh, don't lie to me, you know you won't get away with it." He swiftly put another arm beneath my knees and scooped me up off the ground. I gasped, surprised, and quickly wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. He chuckled softly,

"I'll give you a lift." I sighed, feeling slightly annoyed and gave in,

"Fine. It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice anyways." He laughed quietly,

"No. No you don't." He started down the long hallway, carrying me gently. I looked into his deep green eyes and asked him quietly,

"Hey babe?" He looked down at me, "What did you do to Luke and his buddies?" Loki switched his gaze forward again and his face darkened,

"I disposed of them." He said in a very sinister voice. I held my gaze on him,

"You mean you killed them?" He nodded curtly, I stared at him shocked, "All of them?" He nodded again. "But why?" He looked down at me and his gaze softened,

"Because they were bad people and they hurt my darling." I gave him a small smile and he kissed the top of my head. I rested my head on his shoulder and he continued walking. He walked past my room and I looked up at him curiously,

"Hey, you passed my room!" He grinned widely and said smoothly,

"I know." I rolled my eyes,

"Where are you taking me then?" He looked down at me and raised an eyebrow,

"Where do you think?" It was my turn to raise an eyebrow,

"Your room? Really?" He nodded,

"Your feet need new bandages and my room has everything we need." I shrugged,

"Ok then. Lead on noble warrior." I smirked up at him and he laughed out loud. When we got to his room he pushed open the door and sat me down on the bed,

"Stay there." I saluted,

"Yessir." He rolled his eyes and turned to the bathroom. I sat on the bed looking around, _'God, I missed this room.'_ All those books he had and the walk-in closet and the balcony and just everything about the room screamed Loki. He returned from the bathroom a few seconds later, carrying a roll of thick bandages, medical tape, a small bottle of painkillers and a pair of scissors. He tossed the bottle at me,

"Take two." He began to busy himself with preparing the bandages. I nodded and popped open the bottle. I shook two of the small pills into my hand,

"Do you have a glass of water?" He held out his hand and a tall glass filled with clear water slowly materialised in his hand. I took it and stared at it, "That is the coolest thing ever..." He chuckled and turned to my feet. I put the pills in my mouth and downed the water and set the glass on the table. Loki looked into my eyes,

"Now, this might hurt. Quite a lot." I bit my lip and nodded. It felt kind of relieving as he unwrapped the outer layers of the bandage, but when he got to the inner layers, the blood had dried on the bandage and plastered it to my skin. He looked up at me apologetically and I nodded. He tried to take it off as gently as possible but it still hurt like hell and most of the cuts were re-opened. He quickly wrapped it back up with a fresh bandage and did the same proceedings with the other foot. I laid back on the bed breathing heavily and my feet throbbing like mad. The painkillers had helped immensely but had not completely eliminated the pain. A few minutes later, Loki laid down on his back beside me and said sympathetically, "I'm sorry love, but it had to be done." I nodded and looked over at him,

"I know. I'm fine, I've dealt with worse." I smiled at him and he smiled back. I leaned over to him and he claimed my mouth in a deep kiss. A soft, contented moan escaped his lips and I grinned into his mouth. We reluctantly pulled away from each other and smiled happily at one another. I looked into those deep, dark green eyes of his and whispered, "I love you Loki." He just smiled warmly and leaned in for another kiss.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

I propped myself up onto my elbows and gazed out the glass balcony doors towards the rolling fields. Loki sat up next to me and said,

"How do your hands feel?" I sat up and glanced down at my bandaged hands,

"Alright I guess. They don't hurt to badly at the moment." Loki gingerly took my hands into his and examined them. He reached for the bandage on my right hand,

"Do you mind if I take a look?" I shook my head,

"Be my guest." We directed our attention back to my hand as he slowly unwrapped it and carefully removed the last layer of cloth. Apparently the doctors were able to stitch up some of the worst cuts on my hand, so there wasn't much danger of the wounds reopening. Loki held my wrist firmly,

"Stay still for a moment." I nodded and he hovered his other hand only a few centimetres above my right one. A faint blue glow, growing steadily stronger, appeared in the space between our hands. I gasped quietly as a strange tingling sensation spread through my hand, intensifying until it almost hurt. When he removed his hand, many of the gashes were almost completely healed. I held my hand up, amazed and stared at Loki,

"How... how did you..." He pressed a finger to my lips to silence me. He slowly lowered his hand from my face and gently took my other hand,

"May I do this one too?" I nodded,

"Of course." He unwrapped the layers of cloth on my other hand and repeated the process. I stared down at my nearly healed hands and back to Loki, "Thank you." I breathed. He gave me a shy smile,

"You're welcome. I figured, since I caused all of this, I might as well try to fix it." I stared at him in shock and gently cupped his face in my hands,

"No. I was the one to blame for this. I overreacted. All you've ever done is love me and be kind to me. I honestly don't know what I've done to deserve such a man as you. I will of course run away with you, if you'll still have me." He took hold of my wrists and pulled them down to his chest, he intertwined our fingers. He looked me straight in the eyes and said,

"Whatever happens, whatever you do, I will always, always love you and nothing would make me happier than if you came away with me." I looked at him for a moment before throwing my arms around him and embracing him in a tight hug. He hugged me back and smiled into my hair. He pulled back and held my shoulders gently, "Sleep with me." I looked at him and smirked,

"Of course my love." He grinned and pushed me softly back onto the bed. He leaned down and kissed me roughly, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth. He grinned and slid his hand under my shirt, resting it on my stomach. I laced my fingers through his dark hair, pulling him closer. He moaned slightly as I traced lines over his toned stomach. It was mine turn to grin as we broke for air and I tilted my head up, exposing my neck. He took it as a hint and started placing little love bites and kisses down my neck. I gasped as he moved the hand on my stomach unexpectedly further up my body. He tugged at my bra, trying to take it off, I laughed at his attempt. After a while he got frustrated and just magicked our clothes off. Now we were both lying on the bed completely naked and with every possible limb miraculously intertwined and as close to each other as humanly possible. I could feel the strength seeping out of my body as he traced lines over my midsection. Pretty soon I would be totally overpowered by fatigue and he could do as he pleased with me. Unfortunately, every time I tried to tell him this, a pleasured moan escaped my lips. He grinned knowing what I was thinking and chuckled,

"I know, that's the point." I nudged his shoulder, slightly annoyed. Taking my hint, he backed off and flipped off of me and onto his back next to me. Both of us panting heavily I looked over at him and nearly gasped,

"Thank you." He looked over at me and nodded. I rolled onto my side so that I had my arms wrapped around his waist and fell swiftly asleep. He pulled a blanket up over us and tucked us both in, turning towards me and wrapping his arms around me. Kissing my forehead softly he gave in to sleep shortly after me. It was twilight when we both woke up again, blinking in the fading evening light we looked at each other and laughed at the state of our hair. He brushed a loose strand out of my face and gently caressed my cheek, embracing my lips in a deep, loving kiss. He pulled back for a moment and we just stared into each others eyes. A knock on the door startled us and we both jumped. I looked at Loki, a little panicked and whispered urgently, "What do we do?!" He looked straight at me and said,

"Come with me." Almost before I had given my answer we had teleported into Loki's hideout room. We had just basically transported from one bed to another. We laid under the covers, me still trying to recover from the shock of teleportation. Loki slid out of bed and grabbed a robe hanging on the bedpost and tied the sash around his waist. He turned, "I'll be right back babe, I'm gonna go grab some food." I propped myself up on one elbow, pulling the sheets up over my chest,

"Get me some too, would you?" He smiled and nodded, blowing me a kiss. He flicked his wrist and a door appeared in the far wall, through which he walked and the door disappeared behind him. I crawled off the bed and wrapped myself in the sheet off the bed. I walked over to the bathroom door and opened it, the door swung open to reveal a massive bathroom with a shower and bath and a jacuzzi. I looked around and breathed, "Dayum... You stylish bastard." I walked over to the hot tub and turned on the bubbles. The sheet dropped to the floor as I sat on the tub and gently unwrapped the bandages from my feet and climbed into the warm water. I sat down and leaned back onto one of the jet streams. I sighed and rested my head onto the edge of the tub letting the water swirl around me. Steam rose up from the hot water causing the bathroom to heat up and keep a thick layer of steam hanging in the air. I sunk deeper into the water until it rested just under my chin, I relaxed and let the water gently massage my sore body. I was so zenned out that I didn't hear Loki come back and come into the bathroom. Only when he got into the water did I nearly jump out of my skin and acknowledge his presence. He laughed and said,

"Sorry, did I startle you?" I looked over at him, a hand placed over my heart,

"A little bit!" I said sarcastically. He chuckled and waded over to me, I love it when you get sarcastic. I rolled my eyes at him as he put his hands on the wall behind me on either side and kissed me. I pushed him back and he looked at me with puppy dog eyes, I looked at him and said sternly, "No. I'm trying to relax here, not to have you hang around trying to kiss me." He put on a fake pout,

"But what if I kiss you softly? You won't even know I'm here." I stared at him, unwilling to change my position,

"No." He wouldn't stop his stupid pouty face and reluctantly I finally gave in. _'How did he always manage to get his way? Must be a god of mischief kind of thing.'_ I thought, jealously. He clapped his hands and I grinned and rested my head on the edge of the tub again, "You're such a fashionista." He ceased his kisses on my neck and looked at me,

"Am not! I just like my bathroom." I tilted my head up to look at him,

"Uh huh, sure ya do. I think you're just a super stylish hipster and you don't want to admit it." Loki stared at me with a mild expression of disgust and amusement,

"Ok, 1. I am NOT a hipster, 2. What do you have against a little style now and then, 3. What's your problem with my bathroom?" I laughed and resumed my original position, murmuring a quiet,

"Fashion diva." In a singsongy voice. Loki sighed and decided to take a seat beside me. He stayed still for a grand total of 3 minutes before getting bored and flicking water at me. I sighed and looked over at him, "Can I help you?" He tilted his head to the side and said,

"I'm bored. Let's go do something!" I moved my head back and closed my eyes,

"I am doing something, it's called therapeutic relaxation." Loki groaned loudly,

"But that's so boring! I wanna do something exciting!" I sighed and sat up, opening my eyes, looking straight at him,

"Then go do something! Go draw or do a puzzle or something." He gazed at my face,

"Oh yeah. Ok, I'm gonna go do what you said." I smiled and he kissed me lightly on the lips. I leaned my head back yet again and closed my eyes,

"Have fun babe, don't do anything too stupid." I heard him laugh,

"Oh, you know me, I'd never do anything like that." I chuckled and said quietly to myself,

"Uh huh. That's what I'm worried about."


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

I got up and wrapped a clean towel around me. I turned off the jets to the hot tub and opened the bathroom door. Loki was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor surrounded by hundreds of puzzle pieces. He looked up at me as I walked out of the bathroom,

"Hi. I found a puzzle." I stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. He looked at me quizzically before returning to his work, "Hey, you said, and I did. I don't understand why you think this is a laughing matter, this puzzle is impossible!" I continued to laugh at him and nearly fell over because of the look on his face and the fact that he was just sitting on the floor like a 6 year old, doing a jigsaw puzzle. Once I had regained myself I stood up and took a deep breath,

"Wow, okay. I just didn't expect you to actually go and get a puzzle and have the patience to sit down and do it." He placed another two pieces together and looked up at me innocently,

"Well, I guess I'm full of surprises huh?" I giggled,

"I guess so! I'm going to go find some clothes." He directed his attention back to the puzzle and nodded,

"Ok, I'll be here." I grinned and walked towards the closet doors, opening them and walking into the closet. I grabbed a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants and a pair of underpants/bra and slipped into them. I walked out of the closet and shut the doors behind me. Loki was still hunched over his jigsaw looking slightly frustrated, I walked over to the bed and sat down,

"Hey Lokes?" He straightened up and turned to look at me,

"Mm?" I straightened my legs and wiggled my feet in front of him,

"Do you mind bandaging them up again?" He smiled and nodded,

"Of course, love, I'll be right back." He hopped up and carefully maneuvered around the puzzle pieces and into the bathroom. I noticed the box lying on the floor and I picked it up, it was a 1000 piece disney princess jigsaw. I fell back on the bed laughing hysterically, Loki walked back into the room holding up the roll of bandages and stopped dead. I sat up and looked at him, holding my sides in laughter. He dropped his arms back to his sides and his shoulders drooped, "What's so funny?" He whined. I held up the box and couldn't stop laughing to tell him. He sighed and shrugged, "What, I like Disney movies!" I took a deep breath and managed to stop laughing,

"Wow, that was one thing I NEVER thought I would ever hear a man say in my life, let alone a prince. Of an alien planet. That I'm in a relationship with." He laughed,

"Is that a good thing?" I grinned and nodded,

"Yes, it is a very good thing. Have I ever told you how much I love you?" He stepped over the puzzle pieces and sat next to me on the bed,

"Once or twice." I hugged him,

"So you like Disney movies huh? I didn't think you lot would have Disney in space…" He smiled and and patted my head,

"I love Disney, and we normally don't. But I have my sources." I laughed and looked up at him,

"Great! Now we can watch Disney movies together! I'm not gonna even ask where you get them, but as long as you'll watch them with me I'm happy." He grinned,

"Well, then how about we watch one tonight?" I clapped my hands and nodded,

"Hooray!" He smiled and held up the roll of bandages,

"Shall we?" I laughed and turned so that my legs were on Loki's lap. He took my heel gently in his hand and started to wrap a length of cloth around my foot. I leaned back on my hands and watched his careful movements, smiling at the care he took not to do anything to hurt my feet in any way. Once he had finished he looked up at me and smiled, "Hey, will you help me with my puzzle?" I grinned and nodded,

"Of course! I love doing jigsaws!" He smirked and said,

"Great!" As he slid lightly off the bed and resumed his place, cross-legged, on the floor. I chuckled and took a seat across from him. I sorted out the edge pieces from the middle pieces and occasionally fit the odd one together, I let Loki do most of the assembling. My stomach growled and I realised I had forgotten to eat, once again. I stood up,

"Hey Lokes Where'd you put the food you got earlier?" He looked up and pointed to a kitchen area in the far corner of the room that I swear wasn't there before. I looked in the direction he was pointing, "Oh. Right." I carefully stepped around the pieces scattered around the floor and walked over to the tall silver fridge and opened both doors, inspecting its contents. I saw carton of what looked like Chinese take-out and opened it, _'Fried rice, delicious!'_ I thought and pushed closed the doors, opening one of the drawers and grabbing a fork. I headed over to Loki, lunch in hand and sat back down in my original spot. I stirred up the rice, careful not to spill any onto the puzzle and held a forkful out to Loki. He looked up and smiled, leaning forward and eating the rice off the fork. I took a bite for myself and he went back to his puzzle. I set down the carton next to me and continued to sort out pieces, making sure they were all right side up, moving them into categories, sorting into edge and non-edge pieces etc. I occasionally took a forkful of fried rice, giving some to Loki every once and a while, until it was finally empty. I got up to go toss it in the trash and realised the kitchen was gone. I turned around and called, "Looki! Can you bring back the kitchen please?" He flicked his wrist and when I turned around it was back, "Thanks babe!" He nodded and I tossed the empty carton into the trash, throwing my fork in the sink. I opened the refrigerator again, looking for a drink, this time. I spotted a 1 litre bottle of orange vanilla seltzer water and picked it up. I looked back at Loki, "You want some seltzer, Lokes?" Without looking up, he called,

"Yes please." I grabbed a second bottle and gently kicked the door shut with my foot. He looked up as I tossed him a bottle and I sat down again. I looked around at the pieces organised into groups around us,

"Ok, so, I've got all the edge pieces, that you haven't put together, in one pile, dark blues there, light blues here, purples and pinks in this pile, green in that one and miscellaneous pieces right here." I pointed out each group before opening my bottle and taking a swig. He nodded and looked at his almost halfway finished frame,

"Sounds good. Do you wanna help me put it together?" I nodded,

"Sure. It'll go faster with two pairs of hands instead of one." He looked up at me and smiled, as I focused on the puzzle in front of me. I put the cap back on my bottle and set it behind me and started to try to fit some of the edge pieces together. In only 30 minutes, we had finished the frame and were starting to work inward, towards the center. After another hour of struggling to find the right pieces, we both decided to call it quits for the day and settle down to a movie. We both decided on Beauty & The Beast and a huge flat screen TV appeared out of nowhere to place itself on the wall at the foot of the bed. I crawled onto the large bed and Loki disappeared into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with two pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in his hands. He held them up,

"Want some?" I stuck my arm out,

"Duh. Of course I do, it's Ben & Jerry's!" He tossed me a pint and I caught it, examining the label to see what flavour it was. I gasped and gazed up at Loki when I saw the title, "Phish Food, my favourite! How'd you know?!" He just grinned and flopped down on the bed beside me, handing me a spoon and flicking on the TV. He fiddled around with it a bit and eventually got the movie started. I leaned my head against his shoulder, both of us leaning back against the headboard, occasionally giving each other a spoonful of the others ice cream. I hadn't seen Beauty & The Beast in years but Loki seemed to know every song by heart and was quietly humming along with them throughout the movie. I was laughing at him in my head and just now realising what an amazing voice he has. Once the movie was over and our ice cream was all gone I moved my head so that I was looking up at him, "Loki, will you sing to me please?" He gazed back at me and brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face,

"Of course I will, darling." I smiled gratefully at him and tilted my head back down to its original position. I relaxed and let his smooth and beautiful voice wash over me as he sung 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'. I felt myself drifting further and further into perfection as I laid my head on his thigh and he stroked my hair gently. When he had finished singing we looked at each other and smiled lovingly. I sat up slowly and he placed a hand on my cheek and pulled me closer to for a kiss. I relaxed and put my hand on his cheek, gently biting his bottom lip. He slid his tongue into my mouth and leaned towards me, longing to be closer. After a while I gently pulled back and snuggled under the covers, as he followed suit. We lay in bed in a close embrace, and locked in a kiss, wallowing in each others company. We pulled back slightly and I said quietly,

"I love you, Loki." He smiled softly and whispered,

"I love you too, Jenny. Sweet dreams my darling." I smiled tiredly and murmured,

"Good night, babe." I curled up next to him and fell asleep looking at the glowing blue stone that rested on his chest.


	24. Chapter 23

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 23/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 48.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"The sound of a door closing woke me up. I sat bolt up in bed and looked around the room in a slight panic. My eyes rested on Loki who was standing, stock still, a few feet away from the fridge, holding a sandwich and looking incredibly guilty. He looked at me and said quietly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Sorry. I got hungry." I giggled and looked back at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's like 2:30 in the morning and you just decide to eat a sandwich?" I shook my head and smiled, You're such a strange person." He just shrugged and took a large bite of his sandwich, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I suppose that's one of the reasons you love me so much." I laughed and laid back down and rolled over, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I suppose you're right." I heard him chuckle smugly as I closed my eyes and fell back asleep./span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"strong~/strong/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head to find Loki back in bed and sleeping soundly. A few strands of his normally neat, slicked back hair had fallen into his face and were moving slightly with each breath he took. I smiled looked at the clock on the wall, it read 10:30 a.m. Sliding out of bed, careful not to wake Loki I walked lightly over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I decided it might be nice to cook Loki breakfast in bed, so I pulled out a carton of eggs, some bacon, cheese, a few assorted types of vegetables, some butter and the milk. I set the things gently on the table and found some potatoes and a loaf of bread. I pulled two frying pans out of a cabinet and set them on the stove, turning on the heat and putting a small amount of oil in each. I chopped up the peppers and onions I had pulled out of the fridge, while waiting for the pan to heat up. I put 6 eggs in a glass bowl with a splash of milk and mixed them together quickly, then I poured half of the eggs into the larger pan and laid the bacon into smaller one. I shredded some cheese and sprinkled it and some of the veggies onto one side of the eggs and flipped the other half on top into an omelette. I flipped the omelette over and moved the bacon around to make sure it was all cooked through. I then cut the potatoes into cubes and fried and seasoned them. I finally put two pieces of bread in the toaster and buttered them nicely. I put the omelette, 5 pieces of bacon, half the potatoes, two pieces of toast and a knife and fork on a plate with a cup of earl grey tea with a splash of milk on a tray and brought it out to Loki. I sat down on the side of the bed and rested the tray on my lap, "Lokes, you hungry?" His eyes fluttered open and he sat up slowly and stretched his arms. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I made you breakfast." He smiled and kissed my forehead as I placed the tray on his lap, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You didn't have to do that for me!" I stood up and smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey, it was the least I could do. You've saved my life at least twice already." He laughed and asked concerned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Did you make any for yourself?" I nodded and headed back into the kitchen, calling over my shoulder, "Don't wait for me though. Go ahead and dig in!" I poured the other half of the eggs into the frying pan and sipped my tea while waiting for the eggs to cook. I put some cheese and vegetables into the eggs and folded it into an omelette. I put the last 5 pieces of bacon on a plate, the rest of the potatoes, two pieces of toast, utensils and once my omelette had finished cooking I put that on too and walked over to sit with Loki. When I sat down next to him on the bed he glanced up from his plate to look at me in awe, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""This is the best breakfast I have ever eaten in my life." I chuckled and stabbed one of my potatoes and popped it into my mouth, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks. I hope the omelette is okay." He nodded vigorously and munched on a piece of bacon, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Everything is absolutely delicious. Especially the omelette; and the bacon is just divine, the potatoes are absolute perfection!" I laughed and held up a hand, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alright, alright I get it breakfast is really good. Now quit it, you're making me blush!" He grinned and took a sip of tea, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""How'd you know what kind of tea I liked?" I shrugged and continued to eat, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I dunno. I just guessed, that's how I like my tea and I just hoped that you liked it the same." He smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""This is exactly how I like it. Thank you." I smiled and we ate our breakfast with small talk between bites. After we had finished eating, I collected the dirty dishes and brought them back over to the kitchen and rinsed and placed everything in the dishwasher. I hopped back over to Loki and laid on my back, across his legs preventing him from moving, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Can we go outside today? I miss the sun and fresh air." He looked down and me and shrugged, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Sure. Where would you like to go? There's a really cool abandoned castle that we could go see, I could take you through the forest, we could go horseback riding, we could go into town... there's loads that we could do." I leaned on my elbow and gazed up at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well I'm guessing that something with minimal walking would be best because of these guys..." I held up a foot, "And we should probably stay fairly low key as I kind of disappeared without telling anyone where I was going. How about horseback riding?" He smiled and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Sounds good! Go get dressed in pants and a warm shirt, it's getting colder out." I wriggled off of his legs and he winked at me as I skipped off to the closet. I managed to find a pair of fairly tight bootcut jeans and a white tanktop and threw a warm looking red sweater on over it. I decided that the bandages I had on my feet would be fine for another day and I found a pair of stylish combat boots and slipped them on. I looked at myself in the mirror, smoothing down the sweater and smiling, deciding that I looked good enough. I walked out of the closet and Loki turned around and whistled. I giggled and twirled into his arms, he caught me and kissed the top of my head, "You look beautiful." I blushed and looked down at his chest, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thank you." He lifted my chin and planted a light kiss on my lips, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You are so very welcome, my dear." He pulled back and smiled comically, "My turn!" He walked past me to get to the closet and flung open the doors dramatically. I laughed and headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. I had just finished rinsing my mouth when Loki came up behind me and pinched my ass lightly. I whirled around and glared at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What was that for?!" He grinned with feigned innocence, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Sorry, couldn't resist." I hit him on the arm and looked him up and down, he was wearing a loose dark green wool sweater and a pair of light blue jeans. I smiled, it was kind of strange to see him dressed like that, he usually wore his armour or a t-shirt and sweatpants. He gestured dramatically to his attire, "Do you approve?" I laughed and gently pinched his cheek, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes, you look very nice." He frowned at me and I winked at him as I waltzed out of the bathroom, "Sorry, couldn't resist. Now, brush your teeth and fix your hair, I'll be out here." He glared after me and mumbled so he thought I couldn't hear, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're not my mother." I laughed and sung out, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Not your housekeeper either!" He grumbled and I laughed. I walked back into the kitchen and started the dishwasher. After a few minutes Loki reappeared all freshened up and I looked at him, "Ready?" He nodded and walked over to take my hand. I was unnecessarily excited to go outside and go horseback riding, but I couldn't remember the last time I had ridden a horse and it was something I loved to do. In a few seconds we were beside the royal stables where all the royalties horses were penned up. Loki immediately rushed over to a large black horse and started stroking it's mane and talking to it. I, on the other hand gazed around in awe at all the gorgeous horses. It wasn't until Loki snapped me out of my wonder by saying, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Pick any horse you like." I stared up at him with wide eyes and said breathlessly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Really?" He nodded and began to saddle his horse. I walked around the stables a little bit gazing at all the different horses. A medium sized, chestnut coloured horse with a wide white stripe down it's face and a white nose caught my eyes. It's rich reddish brown coat shone in the sunlight as I slowly walked over to it, careful not to approach it directly from the front and gently patted its cheek. It nuzzled its nose against my face and I softly stroked its velvety nose. I looked into its large, brown eyes and whispered, "Now, what's your name?" I heard the sound of footsteps behind me and Loki's voice say, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good choice. Her name's Annabeth." I smiled at my horse, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What a nice name." I turned to Loki and asked, "Can I have her today?" He nodded and looped his horse's reins around a nearby post, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course. Need any help saddling her up?" I nodded shyly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes please, I haven't done this in a long time." He smiled and walked onto the other side of Annabeth, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""That's alright. I'm always here to help." He proceeded to saddle up Annabeth while I watched closely, filing the information away for the next time. He handed me her reins as he walked to the entrance and untied his horse. I led her out onto the grass and walked beside Loki. We came to a halt a little ways out and he looked at me, "Ready to get on?" I grinned, threw the reins over Annabeth's head onto her neck and nodded. I put one foot in the stirrup and quickly swung the other leg over with ease. Loki did the same and looked at me with amazement, "Wow, you're a natural at this." I laughed and took the reigns, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I've always loved horses." I patted Annabeth's neck and gave her sides a small squeeze to get her started. She walked on and Loki rode along beside me, I looked over at him on his tall, black horse and questioned, "What's his name?" Loki smiled proudly down at his horse and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Perseus, I call him Percy for short. He's led us to victory in many great battles in the past few years." I looked down at the dark horse in amazement, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""He looks so calm and young to be such a war hero." Loki gave Percy a soft pat on the neck and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes. He does doesn't he." I looked down at Annabeth and gave her a gentle kick, coaxing her into a slow trot. I turned my head and grinned back at Loki and shouted, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""C'mon slow poke!" He grinned back and gave Percy a firm kick that quickly caught him up to us. Once they had passed us, Loki turned and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Who's the slow poke now?" I laughed and gave Annabeth another nudge and whispered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Come on Anna, let's pass these guys." She whinnied and sped up into a fast trot/run. We passed them in no time but the game was now on. We kept speeding up until each horse was in a full fledged gallop and couldn't go any faster. We gradually brought both back down to a walk and laughed hysterically at each other. I looked over at Loki and smiled, "That was so amazing. Thank you so much for taking me out here today." He smiled warmly back at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""My pleasure. This was as much for my enjoyment as it was for yours, believe it or not." I laughed as we headed back to the stables. When we got back I unsaddled Annabeth and gave her a nice cool wash down with soapy water. I looked at her and smiled, gently stroking her nose. Loki came up behind me and put a hand out in front of my face, "Want a sugar cube?" I turned around and laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No but I bet there's someone who would." I took two sugar cubes out of his hand and put my hand out to Annabeth, whispering, "Good work today, girl." Loki chuckled and leaned casually against the wall of the stall, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Talking to horses now are we?" I smiled and threw the wet sponge at him. He caught it with one hand and threw it back, I ducked and it landed straight in the bucket. We both laughed and he said, "I think it's about time to be heading home, don't you?" I nodded and gave Annabeth one last soft pat on her flank and followed Loki out of the stables./span/p 


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

We wandered around a bit and found ourselves sitting on a hill watching the sunset. A crisp breeze sprang up and he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I leaned my head on his shoulder and we sat in silence watching the last rays of sun disappear below the horizon. I shivered slightly and he looked down at me,

"Do you want to go back home?" I nodded. He stood up and held out his hand, I took it and he gently pulled me to my feet. The next thing I knew we were standing in his room in the same position as we were in three seconds ago. I walked over to the bed and sat down, taking my boots off. Loki stepped over the puzzle that was still on the floor and sat down in the spot he was in yesterday. I slid off the bed and sat down across from him. We chatted casually about our favourite Disney characters and movies and such as we continued our puzzle from the last day. I told him that one of my favourite Disney 'princesses' was Mulan because of her strong personality,

"Most female Disney characters always seem to be so delicate and petite, but Mulan just shows such a strong character..." Loki nodded and agreed wholly with me. He looked up from the puzzle for a second to ask,

"Hey, do you want to watch that movie tonight?" I snapped my head up to gaze at him excitedly,

"I would love too!" He smiled and focused back on assembling Cinderella's dress. I fit another piece of Ariel's tail together and questioned, "Who's your favourite Disney character?" He grinned inwardly and said,

"I really, really like Scar from The Lion King." I laughed loudly and looked up at him,

"Oh, that is SO you!" He glared up at me,

"Oh? In what way?" I grinned and retorted,

"The god of mischief, trickery and lies. A beautiful mane of long black hair. How could Scar not be you?" His gaze softened and he grinned,

"Wow. I never thought of it like that." He flipped his hair and I laughed harder. We continued in a focused silence for a while when I began to think,

"Hey, don't you think that the Lion King is kind of like Hamlet?" Loki was quiet for a bit before saying,

"Yeah. Yeah, it kind of is isn't it?" I nodded,

"Yea. Timon and Pumbaa could be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Scar is the Uncle, Mufasa is obviously the king, Simba is Hamlet etc." He nodded,

"Wow, I never thought about it like that. It's a really cool theory." I smiled,

"Thank you." We returned to our puzzle and we added our separate parts into the bigger picture. So far we had completed the frame, Cinderella, Ariel and part of the little forest animals on the ground. I took in a deep breath, straightened up and felt by back crack in several different places and let out the breath. I stood up, "I'm hungry, do you want me to make us some pasta or something?" Loki hopped up and said,

"Sure. I'll help you." I snickered and walked over to the kitchen, with him trailing behind me. I scanned the kitchen, checking in some of the cupboards,

"Do you have any cookbooks around here?" Loki's eyes widened and he started to talk very fast,

"Uuuhhhh, no. But I'm sure I can find one." I smiled and said,

"No, it's alright I just..." I didn't even get to finish my sentence before he had disappeared into thin air. I sighed and pulled a good sized pot from under the counter and placed it on the stovetop. I was searching around for some kind of pasta when Loki reappeared, making me jump, with a large cookbook titled 'The Joy of Cooking.' I turned and took the book from him, setting it on the counter. Flipping to the index and looking at some of the pasta recipes, I saw one titled 'Mediterranean pasta salad.' I flipped to the page number it was listed on and briefly scanned the ingredients. I nudged Loki, "What do you think of this?" He peered over my shoulder at the recipe and nodded,

"That looks delicious!" I grinned,

"Excellent! Let's get started then shall we?" I pulled the vegetables we needed from out of the fridge and placed them on a cutting board. I pulled out a knife and handed it to Loki, "Could you chop these up for me?" He stared at me with wide eyes,

"I... uh. I've never... I don't... It might not be a good idea..." I rolled my eyes at him,

"Oh, you'll be fine. Do you want me to show you how to start?" He nodded sheepishly. I grinned and took the onion, "Ok so, the onion is the hardest because you have to peel it and dice it and sometimes it will make your eyes water." He looked at me with curiosity,

"Why will they make your eyes water? Are they poisonous or something?" I laughed,

"No, they aren't poisonous. It's just that onions are an acidic food and when you cut them the acids from the onion mix with the chemicals in your eyes and create tears." He stared at me open mouthed,

"How... did you know that?" I shrugged and turned back to the cutting board, "I just like cooking and I'm curious as to why things happen." I peeled off the first layer of skin on the onion and cut it in half. I looked up at Loki to make sure he was watching, when I saw that he was peering over my shoulder, watching me intently I started off, "So, first of all we're only going to use half the onion and it's easier to work on a flat surface instead of a round one..." I continued to show Loki how to chop the onion and let him try after I was done explaining. He did a lot better than I had expected for a guy who had probably never cooked in his life. I told him to chop the green pepper a little less finely and just cut the black olives into slices. Once he was off cutting up vegetables, I boiled a pot of water and put the pasta in, mixed up the dressing and found a big enough bowl to put it in. I went to check on Loki, just to make sure he hadn't cut off his finger or anything. He seemed to be doing fine and was almost done, so I drained the pasta and put it in the bowl. I took the feta cheese and crumbled it onto the cooled pasta. Loki called me over to see if he was done, "Looks great babe! Great work." He beamed proudly and I scraped the cut vegetables into the bowl with the pasta and cheese. Finally I poured in the dressing and mixed it all together with some salad utensils. Loki grabbed some bowls from a cupboard and I scooped some out for both of us, "Movie?" He nodded and we both headed over to the bed. We both sat down and he flicked on the TV and we started Mulan. We ate and Loki kept complimenting my cooking skills. I just laughed and insisted that he did most of the work. I got us both second helpings and settled down next to Loki and enjoyed the movie. It was my turn to sing along to every song and Loki looked impressed. When the movie had finished I took our bowls to the kitchen and put them in the sink. I walked back around the corner and Loki was lying on the bed with his hand clasped behind his head, just staring up at the ceiling. I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand across his forehead and said quietly, "Tell them you're alive." He sat up and looked over at me with wide, almost scared eyes,

"WHAT?! No, I can't do that!" I looked him in the eyes and begged,

"Please Loki. I miss them. I miss the outdoors, the fresh air, the breeze on my face. I miss my freedom. It's not that I don't like being here, with you, it's just... I feel like I'm a prisoner here." I looked away and focused on the unfinished puzzle. He was silent for a long time before sighing deeply and saying,

"Fine. I'll tell them." I looked up at Loki, delight and pure happiness evident in my face. I threw my arms around him and said into his neck,

"Oh thank you Loki!" He patted my back,

"You're welcome, love." He pulled me away with two firm hands on my shoulders, "I'm only doing this for you because I don't ever want to lose you and I don't want you to feel like I'm keeping you prisoner." I gave him a small smile,

"Thank you. I love you more than anything in the whole world and I want you to know that I would never leave you." He smiled and our lips met in a whirl of happiness and feeling. I put my hand on his cheek and pulled him closer, he placed his hand on the back of my head deepened the kiss. I pulled away for breath and said quietly, "I'm going to go get ready for bed." He smiled and nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went to brush my teeth and get into pajamas. I found a hairbrush and a hair tie and braided my hair into a French braid that rested between my shoulder blades. I yawned and walked back into the bedroom. I slid into the bed beside Loki and smiled tiredly at him, "Thank you so much for everything." He just brushed his thumb against my cheek and smiled lovingly,

"And thank you for everything you've done for me." I looked at him drowsily and murmured,

"But I haven't do-" He cut me off by pressing a soft finger against my lips,

"You've done more than you know." I smiled, and unable to keep my eyes open any longer, I let myself be embraced into Loki's strong arms and drop off to sleep.


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

I was awakened by Loki gently shaking my shoulder and calling my name softly. I groaned and rubbed my eyes,

"What time is it?" He stood up and said casually,

"Around 1:30 in the afternoon." I flipped onto my back and groaned again, covering my face with my hands. I dragged my hands down my face and looked over at Loki, he was in his full armour minus the helmet,

"Why'd you wake me up?" He smiled and said, "Well, I was kind of planning on going back to the palace and notify everyone of my existence... but if you don't want to come, that's fine with me. We can stay here." I immediately felt wide awake and jumped out of the bed,

"Ohmygosh! Ok I'll go get dressed really quick and then we can go!" He chuckled and nodded down to my feet,

"What about them?" I glanced down at my feet and shrugged,

"I dunno. What about them. They don't hurt any more, they should be fine right?" He shrugged back at me and sat me down on the bed,

"Shall we find out?" I nodded. A small dagger materialised out of thin air into Loki's hand. I gasped and he looked up at me, "It's fine, I'm not going to hurt you. I just don't want to waste time unwrapping all those layers of cloth." I nodded and relaxed slightly. He slid the dagger skillfully under the bandages and cut them off with one swish of the blade. He repeated the slightly unnerving action on my other foot. When he was done, I wiggled my toes and moved my feet around to make sure that everything was OK and healed up alright. When I was sure that my feet were fine, I stood up and hurried over to the closet doors. I called back to Loki,

"I'll be out in a minute!" He just nodded and barely acknowledged that I had spoken. I disappeared into the closet and looked around at all the clothes, _'What to wear, what to wear!'_ My eyes flitted around slightly nervous. I know I shouldn't be this excited about going back to the palace, but I was. Loki was in formal attire, so I decided to follow suit. I picked out a soft orange dress that reminded me of one of those orange creamsicle ice creams. I quickly changed my undergarments and slipped on the flowy dress. The wide, see-through straps of the dress rested on my shoulders and the end of it just brushed the ground. I lifted the dress up a little bit and slipped on a pair of flats to match the dress. I hurried out of the closet and grabbed a hairbrush from the bathroom and frantically brushed my hair. Loki walked up behind me and snaked his arms around my waist,

"It's ok babe, calm down. You don't need to rush, we've got time." I relaxed and leaned back, towards him, looking up into his face,

"I know. I'm just kind of excited is all." He smiled down at me warmly,

"I know, I am too." He kissed lightly on the nose, "You look beautiful today. That dress really suits you." I giggled,

"Well, thank you. You look pretty sexy yourself in that armour of yours." He laughed and spun me around so that I was facing him. He had me firmly pressed against him and my arms were pinned against his chest. His arms were wrapped around me and his hands were clasped at the small of my back. We looked at each other for what seemed like ever, before he finally spoke,

"I love you so much, Jenny." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his lips softly,

"I love you too Loki." He slowly unclasped his hands from my back and stepped back,

"Shall we go?" I nodded and threw the brush on the bed,

"Ok, I'm ready." He smiled and took my hand. We arrived in the field a little ways outside of the courtyard. It was an unusually warm day and the two of us walked along comfortably in the warm air. When we got closer to the palace we saw guards patrolling the open corridors. Loki called out to them to alert them to his presence, but when they saw him, four or five of them ran towards Loki shouting, the other two ran off down the corridor. Loki gently let go of my hand and took a few steps away from me as three of the guards hit him and restrained him. One came over to me and I pushed him away and ran over to Loki, yelling, "No! Let him go! Please!" I pulled on one of the guards arms to try to get him to release Loki, but with no avail. Thor came out of nowhere and strode over to where Loki and I were,

"Loki, I am arresting you on account of the kidnapping of Lady Jenny." I turned to Thor, enraged,

"What?! No! He didn't do anything! I went with him on my own accord." Loki coughed and chuckled bitterly and slowly straightened up,

"Well, I missed you too brother." Thor looked from Loki back to me. Thor looked over at me, slightly astonished,

"You knew he was alive? For how long?" I crossed my arms and glared at him angrily,

"I won't say anything until all charges are dropped and Loki is released." Thor sighed and flicked his wrist towards the guards, and they immediately let go of Loki and stood to attention. He fell to the ground with his head down, coughing, I ran to him and knelt next to him and tilted his head up towards me. His lips was bleeding and he had a small cut under his eye, I gently wiped the blood that had trickled down his chin and inspected his face for any other injuries. I whispered urgently, "Are you alright? Can you stand? Let me help you up." He kindly brushed me off and stood up slowly, clearly in a lot of pain,

"Well, brother..." He spat the word brother, as if it disgusted him, "It's not the best welcome I could have imagined. Who suddenly put you in charge here anyway?" Thor and Loki glared at each other as Thor answered,

"Mother did, as a matter of fact." Loki's knees buckled slightly and I rushed to help him. Loki put his arm around my shoulders for support and I saw Thor tense up. Thor looked at me again and said more gently, "How long have you known that he was alive?" I looked over at Thor and said quietly,

"I never really believed he was dead but, that day that we stopped looking, he showed up in my room." Thor looked away,

"Why did you not tell me?" Loki interjected and spoke icily,

"Because I asked her not to." Thor looked wt Loki a little sadly,

"But why, Loki? We could have helped you." Loki laughed once,

"We? Who's we? No. You would not have helped me. If you knew the truth you would not help me." Thor gazed at both of us quizzically. I looked away and Loki just glared coldly at Thor. I looked up at Thor,

"Loki needs medical attention. I'll take him to the infirmary." Thor nodded and I nudged Loki, saying quietly, "C'mon Lokes. Let's get you some help." I glanced back at Thor as I led Loki away. He was looking at the ground sadly. I sighed and looked up at Loki, "Why were you so bitter towards your brother?" He huffed,

"He's not my brother." I sighed,

"Yes he is Loki, whether you like it or not, you believed yourself his brother for all this time why not now? You were raised together, played together, cried and laughed together. What is the point of separating yourself now?" He looked at me coldly,

"Because now I know the truth. I suppose you wouldn't understand, you're just a mortal being." I opened my mouth to say something but stopped and stayed silent. We continued in silence. Once I had gotten him to the hospital, I turned and left without another word. I wandered around and soon found myself in the library. I climbed up the spiral staircase and sat on of the velvet couches. I looked around the room and felt a lump forming in my throat. I tried to swallow it down but I couldn't, I felt the tears start to roll down my cheeks and I was unable to control the sobs that wracked my body. I cried and cried and cried for hours on end. Finally, when it had gotten dark out I headed miserably out of the library and into the hallways, meandering aimlessly around. I finally found a spare bedroom and entered it, falling onto the bed, exhausted. I tossed and turned, only getting a few hours of broken sleep unable to get any real rest. I felt horrible and terribly sick. I closed my eyes and tried to count sheep to try and lull myself to sleep. Needless to say it didn't work and I lay in bed, half asleep, half awake all night. Loki's words echoed around my head, _'I suppose you wouldn't understand, you're just a mortal being.'_ He seemed so different around Thor today, so cold and cruel. I thought about it, _'Did he still love me? How many of his words were actually real? What had happened to the Loki I knew?_' I sighed as unwanted tears slipped out of the corners of my eyes. I wanted my Loki back. _'Was my freedom really worth this change in Loki? Had I brought this upon myself?'_ So many questions that I didn't have any answers too. The story of my life, really.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

I heard Thor's loud voice echoing through the hallways outside the closed doors of my adopted room. I groaned inwardly and buried myself deeper into the large blanket, curling up and attempting to hide myself from anybody that entered the room. Thor all but kicked open the doors and said loudly,

"Jenny is that you?!" I groaned and said moodily,

"Go away." Thor stopped and walked over to me quietly,

"Jenny, please. I have missed you and I thought that you had been killed." I tunneled deeper into the blankets and ignored him as best I could. He ripped off the blanket and I immediately uncurled myself, sat up and glared up at him angrily,

"What do you want from me? I just want to be alone!" Thor stared at me and sat down on the bed, not breaking eye contact. I stared back at him, a hint of curiosity starting to creep into my head. Then, out of nowhere, faster than lightning, he kissed me rather forcefully on the lips. I was shocked and it took my brain a minute to react, but once I did I immediately tried to push him away. Unfortunately, Thor was much stronger than Loki and had a tight hold on my arms, resulting in my failed attempt to worm away from him. He pushed me back onto the bed and pinned me down, I screamed as loud as I could, but it came out muffled, as Thor was dominating my mouth. He had me pinned down by my wrists and he was solidly on top of me, rendering me incapable of movement. I struggled to try to get away from him but it was of no use. In a panic I frantically turned my head to the side and screamed, "Loki!" Thor clamped a hand over my mouth,

"He won't come for you this time. Then you will learn that you should have fallen in love with me instead of him." I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth. I bit down hard on his hand. He cried out in pain and pulled his hand away, I saw my chance and started to call out for help again. Thor kissed me again and I was unwillingly silenced once more. He started to undo the buttons of my dress and I yelped in surprise. He grinned wickedly and started to slip the dress off my shoulders. It was just then that Loki burst in through the closed doors. Thor turned around, surprised, alas, I was still pinned underneath his massive body. Loki had a glowing blue sphere floating over each hand, he growled at Thor furiously,

"Get. Away. From. Her." Thor stood up and I rolled quickly to the other side of the bed, re buttoning my dress. Thor looked at Loki and picked Mjölinir up off the floor next to him,

"What are you going to do about it Loki? Kill me?" Loki sneered wickedly and raised his hands,

"I wouldn't hesitate to do so, dear brother." He spat the last two words and I cringed, _'What was happening to this family? What ever it is, I need to stop it, because no one else is.'_ I quickly ran in between the two brothers, just as Thor raised his hammer,

"STOP!" I yelled, "Just stop. Please. What has happened to you two? You used to be the closest brothers." They lowered their weapons but did not cease the tension between them with their eyes. I looked from one to the other, slightly nervous that they would not hesitate to push me aside and continue fighting. I spoke quietly, "What happened, is it me? Because if it is I can leave and neither of you will have me." Both of their eyes widened as they stared at me in shock. Then Thor quickly looked back to Loki and his eyes immediately hardened,

"It's not you Jenny, it just happens to be my brother. If I can even call him that anymore. He is a monster and has betrayed us." My head whipped around and I glared at Thor, marched over to him and slapped him hard across the face. I clenched my fists my by sides in anger,

"How DARE you call him that! Loki can't help who he is! You're just jealous because I love him instead of you, you selfish bastard!" I spun on my heel and marched past Loki and out of the door. I stormed angrily around the palace hallways and suddenly found myself outside sitting atop a hill, still fuming about the current events. I was alone with my thoughts and was totally consumed in my thinking that I didn't notice a figure sit down quietly beside me. I only noticed when he spoke,

"Did he touch you?" I jumped and glanced over at Loki, who was staring straight ahead. I blinked and said,

"What?" Loki looked over at me,

"Did he touch you?" I thought for a bit, and finally replied,

"Oh... No. Not really. He made a move to though, and I'm sure that if you hadn't come in when you had then he would have." Loki growled,

"I'm so sorry that you had to endure that." I shrugged and gazed out over the fields,

"It's fine. You know that I am in love with you and not him, right?" Loki nodded,

"I had hoped so. I feel like I don't deserve to be loved though. Thor's right, I am a monster, an abomination." I snapped my attention back to Loki,

"No. Loki, you are not a monster, you're just... different. Which is why I love you, you're different and mysterious and even though you can be kind of an assbutt sometimes, I still love you." We both smiled and looked at each other, "Okay?" I said quietly,

"Okay." He replied. I leaned my head against his shoulder and he rested his head on mine. We just sat on the grass not exchanging any words, the silence was peaceful and not in any way awkward. I was quite enjoying the moment but he suddenly took his head of mine and I looked up at him,

"What is it Lokes?" He glanced down at me,

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I just got... I... I don't know what happened..." I slipped my hand into his and looked up at him,

"It's oaky Loki. It happens. It just hurts a little when it does." He smiled and kissed me gently on the cheek,

"Shall we go to the library and find a book or two?" I nodded and smiled. He stood up and I took his hand and pulled me to my feet. We started to walk towards the library and I stopped,

"Can we go see your father? Just to see how he's doing." Loki glanced down at me and quirked an eyebrow. He shrugged and said,

"Sure, why not." So, we changed our direction and headed towards Odin's chambers. I was slightly nervous about going, even though I had suggested it, he was still the king of Asgard and I was honestly worried about his condition. When we arrived, Loki knocked on the door and we both entered. I leaned over to Loki and whispered,

"Don't mention Thor." He frowned and nodded. Frigga was sitting on a couch in the room, reading a book. She looked up when she saw us, smiled and stood up to greet us. She first hugged Loki then hugged me, I was slightly taken aback by the warm embrace but accepted it nonetheless. Loki walked over to Odin's bedside and took one of his hands, I looked over at Frigga,

"How is he doing?" Frigga gave me a small smile and said,

"About the same, although he seems to be making an extremely slow recovery." I smiled,

"That's very good news!" She nodded slightly and watched Loki with a concerned expression. I sighed and also looked at him, "I understand how you feel your majesty." She put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed them lovingly,

"I'm sure you do. He can be insensitive sometimes and a very hard person to live with." I giggled quietly,

"Couldn't have put it better myself." We both laughed quietly and walked over to Loki and Odin. I wanted to tell Frigga about Thor, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I decided that maybe later I could ask her for a 'Woman to Woman' chat. I sighed, 'This is going to be harder than I thought.'


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Loki and I told Odin our story as Frigga politely stood by and listened, occasionally commenting on something. Both Loki's parents were surprised when I told them of his talent for cooking. When Loki said that we were just on our way to the library, they let us go. Before we left Odin called me back,

"Go ahead Loki, I must speak with Jenny for a moment." Loki bowed slightly and walked out of the room to wait outside the door. I looked at Odin with a slight expression of confusion,

"What is it you wanted to speak to me about sir?" He sat up and said,

"I just wanted to say that, I think you have done so much for my son and I wanted to thank you for changing him." I nodded and said doubtfully,

"Well, thank you sir, but I'm not sure that all that I've done has been good for him. I was the one who persuaded him to return but I seem to have caused some conflict between your two sons." I looked down, I felt extremely guilty for some reason. It's not like I could control the two brothers feelings towards me. Odin looked at me curiously and urged me to continue, "Well, you see, Loki and I are deeply in love with each other, as I'm sure you know and that's great, it's absolutely wonderful. The problem is, that Thor also seems to be in love with me and is extremely jealous." I sort of edged my way around mentioning anything about the incident today to Odin and continued, "This has caused some problems between us. Thor is a good friend and I would like to keep our friendship, but I can't do that if he's going to be be jealous of Loki and I." He looked at me, deep in thought, and finally nodded,

"I agree, I will speak to him and see if I can knock any sense into that thick skull of his." I smiled and started to leave. Suddenly, I turned around and said quickly,

"There's one other thing." He looked at me and I continued, "When we first arrived back, there was this moment between Thor and Loki, when they were fighting and something in Loki changed. It was just how he acted and what he said that kind of scared me a little bit. I mean, I know he would never hurt me on purpose but, back there, I wasn't so sure. I still love him and trust him with my life, but do you think that…" My voice trailed off and I glanced over at Odin who was listening intently. After a while he finally said,

"I think that you should be very careful around Loki. He has the potential to be a very dangerous person, he can be very over protective. Especially when it comes to the ones he loves." Here, he paused and looked at me, "I do believes that he loves you deeply, but, if he does try to hurt you or if he does put you in danger, do not hesitate to come to me." I nodded and ran over to hug him. He took a minute to respond but eventually hugged be back. I whispered a thank you and walked out of the room. Loki was standing outside the door talking to Frigga and they both turned to me and smiled, I waved at them and took Loki's arm,

"Shall we continue on our journey to the world of books?" He grinned and nodded,

"We shall and it would be my honour to escort you there." All three of us laughed and Frigga smiled warmly at us both,

"Well, I'll leave you two to do your own thing. Have fun you two!" She hugged each of us briefly and opened the doors behind us,

"See you soon!" Loki and I chorused and waved, Frigga waved back and gave us a goodbye. Loki and I walked towards the library. I got curious,

"Why are you going to the library? You suggested it and that's not like you." He shrugged,

"I had an idea but I don't know if it's going to work out or not." I looked up at him,

"What's your idea?" He grinned and replied,

"I can't tell you." I sighed,

"Why not?" He looked straight ahead,

"It's a surprise. If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." I pushed him slightly,

"Well fine then." We both walked along for a short way and soon found ourselves at the library. Loki opened the doors and dragged me deep into the heart of the room. I ran along behind him constantly asking questions that went unanswered. When we finally stopped we were in a small room within the library surrounded by records and books on every walls. I looked around at the dusty room, "What is this place?" Loki began to search the records on the walls,

"It's where all the records of almost everyone are kept, including..." I paused as he reached up to a top shelf and pulled out a file, "Yours." He grinned and plopped it down on the table, "Come. Sit. Let's take a look at this mysterious past of yours." He opened the file and looked through it. He glanced up at me and raised an eyebrow, "Jenny Hazel Oscars?" I shrugged and nodded,

"Yeah. My mum liked the name Hazel I guess." He turned the page, and his eyes widened,

"Wow. You had an older brother named, Evan Augustus Oscars. He died only a few months before you were born." I gasped,

"Really? Wow. Does it say anything about a little brother? How old was Evan when he died? How did he die? How did my par-" Loki cut me off,

"Woah there, hold on a minute. One at a time. He flipped through the file, "I don't see anything about a younger brother. But there is something about a younger cousin who died at the age of 2 in some sort of weird freak accident." I nodded,

"I kind of remember that, I was only like 3 though. How about Evan, can you tell me more about him?" Loki nodded and read me out some facts,

"He died only 2 months before you were born at 18 years old in a later found act of arson in his apartment building." I sighed,

"Wow. That's probably why my family hates me so much. They probably think I was somehow to blame for all this." Loki looked up at me a little sympathetically,

"I don't know anything about that, but I can tell you that your parents didn't die in that fire..." I gazed at him questioningly and a little shocked,

"What?! How did they die? Where? When?" He looked back down at the file,

"I don't know. The details are kind of vague but is says that the doctors found traces of stab wounds on the bodies. The house was definitely set on fire after they had died." He paused and glanced up at me, "Are you okay?" I looked up at him,

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Loki shrugged, "

"I dunno, maybe because we're talking about the mysterious deaths of your family." I thought about it and shrugged, nonchalantly,

"I'm fine. I'm more curious than anything. Does it say anything else?" Loki focused his attention back on the file,

"Not really. All the details are really sketchy and non constant. Sorry babe." I looked down,

"That's alright. I feel much better about everything now." He smiled and closed the file,

"Glad I could help." He stood up and put the file back in its spot. He turned around, "Hey, do you wanna get something to eat? I'm starved." I sat on the edge of the table,

"Yeah sure. I'm pretty hungry too." He tilted his head towards the door and I followed him out of the records room and the library. We walked down to the kitchen and got some food. Then we went back to his room and watched a movie. By that time it was already dark and had started to get late. We settled into bed together, entwined in each other's arms and talking quietly before drifting into a sound sleep.


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

The next morning I woke up to find that Loki was no longer beside me and I was alone in his room. I yawned and sat up, stretching my arms above my head. I looked around, checking to see if Loki was anywhere to be seen, nothing. I rolled out of the bed and walked out onto the balcony, the leaves were starting to change colour and fall off the trees. I smiled to myself and realised I had no idea of what month it was. I guessed sometime in August or September. The wind blew and a few leaves drifted past me, I stuck my hand out and grabbed a large, red leaf. It rustled restlessly against my hand, eager to rejoin its group, I examined it for a little longer and let it go. I heard the door to the bedroom open and I turned to see who it was, Thor was walking across the room towards me. I backed up slightly, it wasn't like I didn't trust Thor, but... I didn't trust Thor. He had betrayed my trust the other day, I still thought of him as a friend but I didn't trust him as a friend should. He stepped cautiously onto the balcony, keeping his distance from me and said quietly,

"Jenny, I just wanted to say that I am truly sorry for what happened the other day. I don't know what came over me and I just want you to forgive me. I sincerely hope that we can keep our friendship." I looked up at Thor and replied,

"I will accept your apology on one condition..." He looked up at me,

"Anything and I will do it." I continued,

"You must also apologise to Loki and promise me never to hurt him." I gazed intently at Thor, waiting for an answer,

"I will do my best, but I fear for you. Loki is dangerous and I can't bear to see you get hurt." I held up a hand,

"I trust Loki with my life. I love him and I have a strong belief that he will never do anything to physically harm me. I just wish you had the same trust in him." I looked down at my bare feet. Thor sat down in one of the chairs on the deck,

"I shall try to place the same trust in him as you do, for your sake. All I wish is to return things as they were." He looked at me sadly,

"Well, I can't guarantee that, but I can assure you that you have my friendship." I gave him a broad smile and held out a hand. He grinned back, stood up and shook my hand, pulling me unexpectedly into a tight hug. I laughed and hugged him back,

"I'm glad that you trust me again." I pulled back and said,

"Oh, I still don't fully trust you, you'll have to earn that back over time, but you certainly have my friendship." He gave me a small smile,

"I understand. I'll leave you to wake up a little more, Loki is outside training if you're looking for him." I nodded and with that Thor walked away, once again leaving me on my own. I sighed, _'Hm. Training. I've always wanted to learn how to fight. Maybe I'll join him.'_ I opened the closet doors and walked inside, I found a set of armour, made of mostly leather, that had a note pinned to it. In Loki's handwriting it said

"_In case you feel like joining me. _

_~ Loki."_

I smiled and took the armour off its hanger and put it on. The outfit consisted of, a dark brown leather top with short sleeves that stopped just below my shoulder, a black tank top to put on under it, tight black pants that hugged my body, and knee high leather boots to match the top. I brushed my hair and put it into a French braid down my back. I walked over to the full length mirror to see how I looked, _'Not bad. Quite sexy actually.'_ I thought triumphantly. The black pants were surprisingly comfortable and so was the top. The whole outfit was snug but seemed to shape to my body, kind of like a second skin. I smiled and walked out of the closet, closing the doors behind me. I patted my hair and took a deep breath, walking out the door and heading towards the training field. When I got there, I saw Loki engaged in a duel with a member of the palace guards. I took a seat on the grass off to the side, watching as Loki and the guard skillfully defended and took strikes at one another until Loki finally forced the man to the ground and gained possession of his sword. He handed the guard back his sword and helped him up. I stood up, applauded and walked over to Loki and the guard,

"Impressive." Both Loki and the guards mouths hung open. I laughed and said lightly, "I don't look that bad do I?" Loki blinked and said,

"No. You look absolutely... stunning." I laughed and replied,

"Thanks. I feel slightly ridiculous but I got your note and figured I might give it a try." He smiled and patted the guard on the back,

"Good match today Owen. You're dismissed now." Owen nodded and gave Loki a slight bow before walking off, still staring at me. I laughed and nodded in Owens direction,

"I guess I gave him quite a shock." Loki turned and laughed,

"I think he's mesmerised by your outstanding beauty, I know I am." I laughed and hugged him,

"Thanks. So, training." He nodded,

"Right. Let's go find you a sword." I grinned and followed him to a large building on our right. We opened the doors and everyone turned to look at us. Loki slid his arm around my waist and hugged me closer to him. We walked through the gangs of men, each staring and even a few whistled. I blushed and looked at the floor. Loki and I walked to the back of the building, and he turned said loudly, "Alright gentlemen, get back to whatever you were doing, it's impolite to stare at a lady, you know. Besides she's already taken..." There were a few audible groans and everyone hurriedly went back to their own business. Loki helped me pick out a suitable sword and I giggled,

"It always amazes me at how incredibly cocky you can be." He grinned mischievously at me,

"Well, I don't want anyone stealing my girl, now do I?" I laughed and punched him,

"Whatever. C'mon, teach me how to sword fight." I grabbed his wrist and pulled him out the back door of the weapons room and onto the field. We found a fairly quiet corner to practice and Loki raised his sword,

"First you have to raise your sword in a defensive position, always assuming that the enemy will attack first." I copied his position and focused on his sword. He swung the sword at me and I blocked it successfully, I grinned,

"Ha! I did it!" We both went back into position,

"Very good. Now you try to place an attack on me." I cleared my mind and concentrated. I stabbed my sword at his shoulder and he blocked. "Good work. Try not to stab and use a slicing motion instead." I nodded and attacked again, he blocked,

"Like that?" He nodded,

"Exactly. Now, let's pick up the pace a little." He grinned and I resumed my defense position. We took shots on each other, working up a sweat and increasing the speed ever so often. Then, our swords crossed and we were face to face, panting and sweat dripping down our faces, stuck at a stalemate. We both backed up and looked around, everyone on the field had stopped fighting and were staring at us. I blushed and wiped my forehead, leaned over to Loki and whispered,

"How long have they been watching us?" He shrugged and whispered back,

"I don't know." I looked at him, still whispering,

"Could you tell them to fuck off 'cause they're kind of creeping me out." He nodded and shouted,

"HEY, the lady says fuck off because you're creeping her out!" I gasped and shouted back,

"Nonono! I'm sorry I didn't mean that!" I turned to Loki and hissed, "What the hell were you thinking you idiot?!" He grinned and shrugged,

"Hey, you told me to tell them and I did." I raised my sword menacingly and growled,

"I have a sword and I'm not afraid to use it..." He chuckled,

"Yeah, I do too. What're you gonna do about it." I yelled and swung my sword at him, placing shot after shot at him, venting my anger through the sword. He blocked each impending shot with ease, but struggled as I sped up and he had to put some effort in to it. I swung faster, still letting the rage fuel my blows, and he was blocking each shot with more difficulty. I missed him completely twice and stumbled forward, Loki saw his chance and pinned me to the ground, taking my sword. I looked up at him and said breathlessly,

"I hate you." He grinned,

"I know." He offered me a hand and pulled me up, drawing me into a long kiss. Everyone around us started clapping and Loki pulled away and started bowing. I hit him in the arm and snatched my sword out of his hand. I muttered,

"Show off." And headed back to our room for a shower.


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Once I had taken the embarrassing walk through the crowds of men hooting and whistling at me, I stormed back to our room. I threw my sword on the bed and walked into the bathroom. I unbraided and brushed out my knotted hair, stripped out of my sweaty clothes and stepped into the cold shower. I sighed, feeling grateful for the sudden chill of the water against my sweaty skin, I ran my fingers through my hair and grabbed the shampoo. I massaged it into my hair and felt the anger slip away as I started humming to myself. I rinsed my hair and washed up, finishing my shower, I grabbed a clean towel off the rack and wrapped it around me, walking out of the bathroom and into the closet by way of the main bedroom. I found a white tank top, a pair of worn light blue jeans and a dark purple zip up hoodie. I dried my still wet hair and combed it out, walking back into the bedroom. I put my sword in a corner of the room and folded my uniform up and placed it with the sword. I sighed and flopped down on the soft bed, just at that moment Loki walked into the room. He threw his sword onto the bed, nearly missing my hand and called out,

"Honey, I'm home." I groaned and said,

"Unfortunately, it seems as if you are." He laughed,

"Well, I'm going to go take a shower, so do what you like for a while longer." I sat up and looked at him, he already had his shirt off and had thrown it into a corner,

"I'm going to go see if I can find out what month it is since you haven't bothered to tell me." He laughed and shrugged,

"Okay." I looked at him,

"Okay." He grinned,

"Okay." I stuck my tongue out at him,

"See you in a while then." He winked,

"Okay." I laughed and stood up, I wandered into the closet, put on a pair of black high top converse and headed out of the room, calling back to Loki,

"Back in a bit!" I closed the door softly behind me and walked down the hall to Thor's room and knocked on the door. A muffled, come in, came from inside so I opened the door,

"Jenny! Nice to see you!" I smiled and nodded,

"Hi Thor, good to see you too. I was just wondering if you knew what the date was." He laughed and replied,

"Of course! It's September the 15th." I gasped,

"Really? Then that means my birthday is in five days!" Thors eyes widened,

"That's great! We'll have to have a party!" I laughed and said,

"No, that won't be necessary." Thor stood up and spread his arms,

"But of course it will! We shall have a ball and the whole kingdom will be invited." I shook my head nervously,

"Nonono, honestly, that's really not needed. I'd rather you didn't." Thor looked very put out,

"If you insist, I shall only give you a small celebration." I laughed,

"Thank you. I just don't want everyone fussing over me." He smiled,

"You are someone worth fussing over." I blushed and an awkward silence settled between us. I spoke up,

"Well, I'd better get going. Thanks for helping me!" I turned to go and waved back at Thor. He smiled and waved back,

"Anytime! See you soon!" I closed the door and skipped back down to Loki's room. Upon opening the door I found Loki lying on the bed, a towel around his waist and his hair still dripping wet, asleep. I grinned wickedly and creeped silently over to the bed. I jumped on the bed and hit Loki in the face with a pillow. He sat straight up and whipped around to see who hit him. I laughed and said,

"Guess what!" He rubbed his eyes and replied slowly,

"What?" I grinned,

"Guess." He looked at me,

"No. Tell me." I laughed,

"Nope. Guess."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes." He sighed and said loudly,

"No. Just tell me already!" I sighed,

"Uugghh. Fine. You're no fun." I paused and he looked at me expectantly,

"Are you going to tell me or not?" I smiled wider,

"It's my birthday in five days!" He jumped up,

"Really? No way! We'll have to throw you a party!" I laughed and stood up,

"That's exactly what Thor said when I told him. Honestly, I'm fine without a party." He put his hands on my shoulders,

"I won't hear of it. I'm throwing you a huge party." I sighed,

"Please don't. If there's going to be a party make it about something else." He looked at me strangely,

"Why don't you want a party?" I shrugged,

"I just don't want to draw attention to myself and have everyone fussing over me. I don't even really belong here anyways." Loki placed a hand under my chin and tilted my face up so that I was looking him in the eyes,

"You are someone that is well worth fussing over and you belong here as much as anyone." I smiled,

"Thank you, but if there's going to be a party please make it be about something else." Loki nodded,

"Okay, if you insist." I hugged him,

"Thank you, Loki." He hugged me back,

"Anything for you darling." I pulled back and spun around the room,

"I had so much fun at training today!" He laughed,

"You're a natural at sword fighting! I barely said anything for the whole time we were there." I smiled,

"It was great! Can we do it again sometime?" He chuckled,

"Of course. Any time I get to see you in that sexy outfit of yours." I grinned and hit him in the arm,

"Shut up. Go find some clothes, let's go take a walk." He gave me a fake frown,

"What, I can't go walking around like this?" I grinned and shook my head,

"Someone might steal you away if they saw that body of yours." He laughed,

"You're right. I guess I'll go find some clothes." I sat on the bed,

"I'll be here." With that he walked into the closet and came out five minutes later. I raised an eyebrow, "Why do you take so long in the shower and take like three minutes getting dressed?" He shrugged,

"One of many talents, I guess." I smiled and hopped up off the bed,

"Take me for a walk. I wanna see more of Asgard." He nodded and held out his hand,

"Okay. Where do you want to go?" I shrugged,

"I dunno where's a good place to go?" He thought for a bit,

"I've got it! C'mon!" I took his hand and we ran out of his room.


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Before long we were running through the forest I had lost all sense of direction, I shortly became out of breath and gasped,

"Loki, please, slow down a bit!" He slowed his pace to a walk. He was barely even out of breath, I threw him a frustrated glance and he grinned,

"Can't keep up, huh?" I exhaled deeply, and said,

"Well, mister godly abilities, maybe if you weren't sprinting, I might have been able to." He laughed lightly and gave me a small shove, I stumbled a bit but quickly recovered and shoved him back. It quickly turned into us pushing each other and me eventually tackling Loki to the ground and landing on top of him. We both laughed and stared into each others eyes for a moment before our lips met in a short kiss. I pulled back and smiled at him,

"I love you." I grinned and said,

"I love you more." I slowly sat up as he said,

"I love you most." I laughed and got the reference and helped him to his feet.

"So, what did you want to show me? We didn't get very far…" He laughed and replied,

"Yeah, I noticed. It's still a ways away too. Are you sure you want to see it?" I nodded eagerly, my curiosity getting the better of me,

"Yeah, of course I do!" He shrugged and held out his arm,

"Okay, if you say so, but just so you know we might not get there before dark." I sent him a shrug back,

"That's fine. I'm not scared of the dark." He looked at me,

"You should be. There are things here that can cause you much more harm than any mortal beast or being could on Midgard." I shuddered and moved closer to him. He hugged me tightly,

"Don't worry my love, I'm always here to protect you." I smiled up at him, and said almost sarcastically,

"I'm glad I have you here to protect me." He grinned and retorted,

"I couldn't have my damsel in distress strolling around all by herself now, can I?" I scoffed, and shot back,

"I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not necessarily a damsel in distress." He laughed and poked me in the side,

"I know, I know. You have a natural talent for sword fighting and I'm anxious to see how you handle with other weapons. I'll have to try you out with some throwing daggers." He held up his arm and a good sized dagger with intricate designs tracing up the handle and onto the blade. I gazed at the beautiful dagger and reached for it, he handed it to me and I flipped it over in my hand and examined the markings.

"These designs are beautiful." He chuckled,

"Thank you." I tossed the dagger in the air, catching it by the blade and throwing at the nearest tree. It hit the tree perfectly and stuck there. Loki looked at me in amazement, "How did you do that?" I shrugged,

"I don't know. I just threw it and it just sort of happened." He was still staring me with a mix of pride and amazement.

"It takes most people years to learn how to do that! You got a straight shot on your first try. It's simply amazing." I grinned,

"Well, I guess I'm full of surprises, huh?" He chuckled,

"I guess you are. You never cease to amaze me." I watched him as another dagger materialized in his hand and he threw it at the same tree and hit it less than a millimetre above mine. I raised an eyebrow,

"And how long have you been practicing?" He chuckled,

"I don't know. When I found out about my magic, I experimented with different things and I guess I discovered that I could conjure up daggers, so I started to practice with them. I found that I was naturally good at it, kind of like you actually." I giggled,

"I guess we have more in common than I thought. Were you good at other things too, like sword fighting?" Loki shook his head,

"Not really. The only thing I was good at, weapon wise, was the daggers." I looked up at him, a little surprised, he seemed to be really skilled with a sword.

"That's a surprise, you're so good with a sword, I would have thought you were a natural." He looked down at me and gave me a warm smile,

"Well, Thor and I have been trained since we were very young to fight with almost every weapon imaginable. Honestly, I didn't like it, I would have preferred to practice magic or read, but it's an important skill to have." I smiled and hugged his arm tighter,

"You would make a great king." He laughed,

"Thanks. I appreciate that a lot." I nodded and looked around. The forest around us was getting darker and I was getting a little worried,

"Hey, are we getting close yet?" He nodded and suddenly turned off the path, "Loki?" He continued walking and stayed quiet. I followed him along my head whipping from side to side with every snap of a twig. Within a few minutes we came to a large pool which seemed to have steam rising from it. A small water fall trickled down into the water and it was encased by a wall of smooth rock on one side. Loki produced a ball of light and moved it so that it was above the pool, fully illuminating its surroundings. I gasped at the sheer beauty of it, the way the steam drifted into the sky, the way the light reflected off the water droplets from the waterfall to create mini rainbows, how the smooth edges of the rock seemed as if they were made to be there. I looked over at Loki who was staring at me and smiling,

"You like?" I nodded and said rather breathlessly,

"It's absolutely beautiful." He grinned,

"Very few people know about this place. It's strange because it's a heated spring but it also has a waterfall coming from up the mountains. The hot and cold water mix to form the most perfect temperature for the water..." He had started taking off his clothes and I looked over at him a little surprised,

"Ummm Loki, what are you doing?" He grinned and winked at me,

"Wanna go for a dip?" I laughed,

"You do this often?" He shrugged,

"Occasionally. Why, are you scared or something?" He said teasingly. I took the bait and took off my sweatshirt,

"No way! I'm game if you are." He grinned and slid off his shirt. I kicked off my shoes and socks and pants, leaving me in just my tanktop and undergarments. He pulled off his pants and I my shirt. We held hands and jumped into the pool. It was a lot deeper than I had expected, but I suppose being fed by an underground hot spring, it'd have to be. I bobbed up to the surface and looked around, Loki had disappeared. I called out, "Lo-" My call was cut short when Loki popped up beneath me and lifted me up onto his shoulders. I screamed and flailed my arms and fell backwards back into the water. When I resurfaced Loki was leaning against the edge of the pool killing himself laughing. I swam over to him and splashed water in his face, "You aren't funny!" He continued to laugh and between breaths he managed to say,

"No... you're right, I'm... hilarious!" I swam away from Loki and went to go sit under the waterfall. I pushed myself onto a rock under the waterfall and let the water cascade down my back. I leaned back slightly and put my hair into the stream of water and ran my fingers through it, rinsing it. The cool water felt refreshing against my scalp and I massaged my head gently. I had my eyes closed and I didn't hear Loki swim up and rest his elbows on my knees, so I jumped a little when he did. I glanced down at him and saw him staring at me dreamily. I grinned and tilted my head forward to look at him,

"I love it when you look at me like that. It actually shows you care." He sent me a carefree smile and I placed both hands on either side of his face and bent down to place a long, soft kiss upon his lips. I sat up again and put my hands on the rock behind me, leaning back on them. Loki said quietly,

"You know, you still look absolutely stunning even after all that body of yours has been through." I smiled and brushed a piece of wet hair out of his face,

"Thank you." He smiled and suddenly disappeared below the water, I looked down to see if I could see him, but before I could react he grabbed my ankles and pulled me into the water. I let out a small yelp and fell, very ungracefully, into the water. I bobbed up to the top and saw Loki with his back turned to me. I saw my chance and pounced onto his back, clasping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I clung onto him for dear life as he tried in vain to get me off. Eventually I decided he had got what was coming to him and let go. He turned around and we both started to giggle. We swam over to the side of the pool and Loki pulled flutes of champagne out of thin air and handed one to me. He raised his glass and smiled,

"To my favourite girl's birthday." I giggled and blushed, clinking our glasses together and kissing once,

"To my birthday." I echoed. We each took a sip. I had never had champagne before but I enjoyed the sensation that the sweet, bubbly liquid spread throughout my body. When we had finished slowly sipping our drinks, the glasses magically disappeared and it was getting quite late. I looked over at Loki, "Hey Lokes, can we head back now? I'm getting kind of tired." He nodded,

"Yeah, sure babe. I guess it is getting kind of late." I turned around and hoisted myself out of the pool. Loki grinned and said, "That is one nice ass." I stood up and struck a pose,

"You really think so?" My wet underwear and bra were clinging to me and I immediately felt the chill of the cool air on my wet skin. I hurriedly put my clothes back on and sat down to pull on my shoes and socks. Loki also hopped out of the pool and put his clothes back on, but not before his skin had started to go a tinted blue. I smiled as I watched him slip his shirt back on, covering up his lean body. I didn't notice him turn and grin at me,

"It's impolite to stare, you know." I blinked and looked away, embarrassed,

"Sorry. I just love the colour your skin turns. You got cold and your skin started to turn blue." He smiled and walked towards me, resting his forearms on my shoulders,

"It's good to know someone appreciates it." I looked up him and quietly said,

"Do we have to walk back? I'm really tired." He smiled warmly and scooped me up into his arms, and in a matter of seconds we were back in the courtyard.

"No. We don't have to walk." I smiled leaned my head against his chest and fell asleep as he carried me back to his chambers. He laid me gently on the bed and got rid of my wet clothes, via magic, not bothering to re clothe me. He changed out of his wet clothes and slid the covers up over us. I snuggled into his arms and he ensnared me in a warm embrace. We both fell asleep in each others arms and felt extremely happy and calm.


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Loki poked me until I partially woke up enough to slap his hand away. He laughed and I groaned and rolled over,

"Go away Loki." I closed my eyes and felt him crawl on top of me a few seconds later. He blew gently on my ear and I twitched and elbowed him in the stomach. He let out a sharp cry of pain and fell back onto his back. He elbowed me back and hissed angrily,

"What was that for? That really fucking hurt!" I scoffed and said,

"Oh, man up. I didn't hit you that hard…" Pulling the blanket tighter around me and trying to go back to sleep. A few seconds later he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me roughly onto my back and straddled me so that we were face to face and I was forced to look straight at him.

"You will not speak to me like that do you understand?" I looked at him with a look of confusion and annoyance and struggled to get out of the tight grip he had on my wrists. He laughed harshly, "Don't try to escape me. Your attempts are feeble and you will never be able to overpower me with your mortal strength." My expression changed from shock, to annoyance, to pure anger and hatred. I spoke threateningly soft,

"Loki. Let go of me. Now." He scowled and slapped me hard across the face, and shouted,

"Speak to me with some respect! I am your superior!" Tears started to form in my eyes, as my cheek started to swell and I felt my heart start to break. I looked up at him and shouted back angrily,

"What is wrong with you?! I thought you loved me!" He laughed again and said,

"Sentiment. An emotion for the weak and the vulnerable." I shook my head as the tears started to spill down my face,

"What happened to the Loki I used to know." He growled and slapped me again. I cried out in pain as my head turned to the side with the force of the hit. I decided I had to escape anyway I possibly could, so, with anger and sadness bubbling up inside me, I kneed Loki where I knew it would hurt him most and because it was the only available escape option. When he recoiled in pain, I took my chance and jumped off the bed and out of his room with the blanket wrapped around me. I ran quickly down the hall and knocked on the door to Thor's room, he answered the door and his eyes widened in shock as he saw me. My face swollen and tear stained, dressed in only a blanket. "Do you mind if I come in?" I asked in a shaky voice. He shook his head and quickly ushered me inside,

"Of course not, what happened? Who did this to you?" I walked unsteadily over to the bed and collapsed onto it, dissolving into heaving sobs. Thor walked over and sat down next to me, scooping me up and cradling me gently in his arms. I curled up against him and sobbed into his chest, soaking his shirt with my unstoppable tears. He gingerly put a hand on my head and stroked my hair, whispering quietly to me and rocking me gently. I don't know how long I cried for, or remember falling asleep but when I woke up I was lying on a bed, still wrapped in Loki's blanket. I slowly sat up and looked around, Thor was sitting on a couch reading but looked up when he saw that I was awake. He put down his book and walked over to me, "How are you feeling?" I shrugged and sighed,

"Kind of like shit. You know?" Thor nodded and sat next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder and pulling me towards him in a tight hug,

"I know." I put my head on his shoulder and bit my lip to keep from bursting into tears again.

"How long as I asleep for?" I asked quietly. Thor looked at a clock on his wall,

"Hm. It's around 12:30 now, so... about 4 hours or so." I sighed, annoyed for some reason,

"Great." Thor loosened his grip a little and I looked up at him, "Thor..." He gazed at me,

"Yeah?" I took a deep breath and said,

"Thor, could you possibly uh... kiss me?" His eyes widened and he looked away from me to stare across the room, biting his lip,

"Jenny, as much as you know I want to, I can't, if I start, I won't be able to stop. I feel like it would be betraying Loki and I made you a promise. I don't want you to feel violated either." I gazed up at him pleadingly,

"Please, Thor. I need to be close to someone right now." A tear slid down my cheek as he looked down at me. He took his arm from around my shoulders and gently placed his hand under my chin and brought our lips together in a sensual kiss. I leaned into the kiss slightly but Thor pulled away.

"Jenny, you're crying." I put a hand up to my face and felt the tears. I turned away,

"I... I'm sorry... I just..." He took my hand,

"It's alright. I understand. Jenny, I love you and I'd do anything for you but if I'm making you unhappy, I'll stop." I shook my head and looked back towards him,

"No. It's not that. I just... Loki... he..." I couldn't finish my sentence before my voice cracked and it was wracked with sobs, once again. Thor wrapped both his arms around me and pulled me close to him. I balled my hands into his shirt and cried, all the anger and sadness spilling over and pouring out of my body. Thor took me by the shoulders and placed another kiss on my lips. I leaned into it fully this time and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting the blanket fall away. I was still crying as Thor got rid of his clothes and we laid down in his bed. He slid his tongue into my mouth and we continued kissing. Thor wasn't the greatest kisser but he was cautious and very gentle. His hands explored my body and I kept my hands fixed on his strong chest. I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face the whole time, I felt bad, thinking I couldn't give him my love and that he was giving all his to me. Nothing serious happened between Thor and I, we just laid in bed with each other, holding each other close. I just needed to be held and I think Thor just wanted to help me. We fell asleep, entangled in each other's embrace. Thor fell asleep before I did and I laid awake for a while, thinking about Loki and what had happened, whether I was to blame for it, whether I still loved him... Yes, I most definitely did, but did he still love me? I eventually cried myself to sleep feeling miserable and guilty as hell. The next morning came with a bang, a massive thunderstorm was raging outside and the rain was pelting loudly against the large glass window in Thor's room. I sat bolt up in bed, surprised by the loud clap of thunder that reverberated around the sky. I looked outside as just as a bright purple flash of lightning bounced across the clouds. Thor seemed to still be asleep somehow so I slipped out of bed and hurriedly walked over to the closet to find something to temporarily put on. Luckily, it seemed that all the closets in Asgard contained a wide variety of clothing, so I found a dark blue pullover hoodie, black skinny jeans with holes in the knees and a black tank top to put on under the sweatshirt. I found a pair of dark blue socks with little white flowers on them and pulled them on my feet, sighing deeply, I walked out of the closet and into the bathroom. I found a brush and brushed out my hair and left it down. I looked in the mirror and saw that my cheeks were slightly red and a little swollen and very tear stained. I washed my face with a wet washcloth, cleaning myself up a bit. I wrote Thor a short note with a pen and paper I found on a desk and left it on his nightstand,

_"Gone out for a bit. Needed to take a walk. Back in a bit._

_~ Jenny"_

I didn't bother to put shoes on as I had no intentions on going outside today, so I quietly slipped out of Thor's chambers, closing the door gently behind me. I took a deep breath and decided to go to the library and find a good book to curl up with and read for a while. I padded softly down the hallway in the direction of the library, reading always helped to clear my head when I was in a mess. I had arrived at my destination in a few minutes and opened the doors. I walked around, looking at the different titles of all the books. I wasn't really looking for anything specific, probably some sort of novel or fairy tale story. I came across a book titled, 'The Looking Glass Wars.' It seemed to be some kind of spin off to Alice in Wonderland. I picked it up and flicked through it, examining the pages and difficulty of the book, there was little that I couldn't read, but it can be annoying when you get a book that's too easy and turns out to be really dull. It looked like an interesting book and an easy enough read, so I looked around for a place to sit. I found a set of spiral stairs and climbed them. They lead me into the room where I first talked to Loki. I sniffed, sort of indignantly, and strode over to one of the couches. The glass roof and walls didn't offer much light, due to the storm, so I turned on one of the lamps by the head of my couch. I got comfortable and opened to the first page. I was really involved in the book and had read up to chapter 5 when someone blocked my light and cleared their throat to make themselves known. I jumped and looked up,

"Good book?" A familiar voice asked. I scowled and ignored Loki but he refused to get out of my light and I was finding it increasingly hard to read. So I sighed, frustratedly and said,

"Could you please get out of my light? I'm trying to read." He stepped to the side and said, sarcastically,

"So, she speaks!" I rolled my eyes and said, a little louder than I wanted to,

"If you don't want anything could you please go away and leave me alone?" I paused and said in a slightly mocking tone, "What are you even doing hanging around stupid mortals like me anyways, shouldn't you be out killing things with your godly friends or something?" He remained quiet for a bit and I continued reading, in the hopes that if I ignored him, he'd leave. I was in no mood to talk, or be in the same room as Loki, at all, right now. After a while he said,

"Look, Jenny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you in anyway. I guess I just..." I shut my book to turn and glare at him,

"Just what, Loki? Huh? You always say that you're here to protect me, but somehow you always end up doing more harm than good..." My voice raised in volume as I kept talking. I stood up and faced him, stepping towards him and getting in his personal space, getting angrier by the second, "... You know what, I don't care if you're a god or not! You don't have the right to say you're my superior. I am my own person and I have no ruler!" I ended, yelling and storming out of the library with my book. I heard Loki call after me,

"Jenny, wait! Let me explain!" But I pretended not to hear him and kept walking. I walked around for a bit longer, avoiding going back to Thor's room, and any other social contact. I didn't want to be around people right now, I just wanted to curl up and read, to be left alone and think. I walked around the palace until I came across a small door in one of the hallways. I opened it and found a set of stairs winding up and out of sight. I shrugged and said out loud,

"What the hell, why not?" And climbed up the stairs. After a while of clamouring up the steep stairs, I found myself in a very small room with windows looking out at all directions of the Kingdom. I was very high up, probably in one of the palaces spires and the view was gorgeous. Even with the rain coming down in sheets, from what I could see, I had a full panoramic view of the Kingdom. The room was only big enough for one person and there was a cushion tucked up against one of the walls. I climbed through the door in the floor and closed it behind me. I set the cushion down on the floor and laid down on it,_ 'Well, someone's been here quite often before, but not in a long while.'_ I thought. The ceiling was high and when I plopped the cushion on the floor a large amount of dust rose from it and up to the ceiling, making me sneeze. I opened my book back up to chapter 5 and picked up where I left off. I read for another hour or two before deciding to pay Odin a visit to see how he was doing. I put the cushion in its original spot and opened the 'trap' door. I wound my way back down the stairs and somehow managed to find my way to where Odin is staying. I knocked on the door and stuck my head in, "May I come in?" Odin smiled and nodded,

"Ah! Jenny, good to see you. How are you? Your cheeks look very red today." I shrugged,

"Good to see you too sir. I guess I'm feeling alright." I half lied. My face felt fine, it's just that my heart had been shattered into a billion pieces and my brain was completely scrambled. I took a seat at Odins bedside, he looked at me skeptically,

"Is there something you want to tell me, Jenny?" I shook my head, I wasn't ready to tell Odin about my problems with Loki just yet,

"I just came down to see how you were feeling and have a chat." He smiled at me,

"How considerate of you! I'm feeling quite well, thank you, I seem to be making a good recovery and I should be able to get out of this bed in a few weeks." I grinned,

"That's great! It will be good to be up and about again, won't it." He laughed heartily,

"Yes it will." I crossed one leg over the other and put my book on my knee,

"Sir, I was just wondering if you knew anything about a small room in one of the towers?" Odin smiled fondly at me,

"I had a feeling you would be the one to find that room. The answer is, yes, I do know about it, I used to go there in my younger days to read and think." I grinned,

"It's a nice, quiet spot. Do you mind if I use it?" He chuckled and shook his head,

"Not at all. In fact I am more than happy that you found it." I nodded once and stood up,

"Well, I guess I had better get going. It was nice talking with you." He nodded back,

"And you. I hope you see you again soon." I smiled and headed out the door,

"Bye!" I called over my shoulder, he waved back and I closed the door. I strolled back to Thor's room at a leisurely pace, not overly excited at going back. When I got there I heard two familiar male voices shouting at each other. I waited outside and eavesdropped,

"I know you slept with her Thor! You can't lie to me and you know it!" Thor yelled back,

"I didn't sleep with her! Nothing happened ok? Why can't you just accept that?!" I had to lean in closer to the door to hear Loki say,

"You know, I was the one that had sex with her, you should have seen her face when she was begging me for more." I cringed slightly, ready to punch Loki in the face. Then, I heard Thor yell. I gasped and ran through the doors, Thor was standing with Mjölinir raised, poised to strike, in his hand. Loki looked at me with a look of pure regret and remorse written on his face, he whispered the words, "I'm sorry." Then Thor hit him straight in the chest with his hammer and Loki dropped to the ground in the middle of a small crater where the shock waves of the hammer had hit. I dropped my book and ran to Loki, screaming,

"Loki! Loki wake up! Please Loki!" Thor was standing in the same position a twisted look of disgust, pain, horror, sadness and rage plastered on his face. I was frantically trying to wake Loki, I checked to see if he still had a pulse. I couldn't find one. I let out a sob and stood up, hot, salty tears once again stinging my face. I screamed at Thor, "You killed him, you monster! What have you done!?" I collapsed onto my knees next to Loki's broken frame. Thor looked at me, an expression of pure hurt on his face,

"Is it true? Was was Loki said true?" I whipped my head around to look at him,

"You want to talk about this NOW?!" Rage darkened his face as he raised Mjölinir,

"Tell me!" He demanded, I looked at him, my face blank,

"Go on. Do it. Kill me too, why don't you. I've got nothing left to live for. You killed him so what's the point." I looked at Thor straight in the eyes, my face expressionless. He lowered the hammer and collapsed onto the bed, his head in his hands,

"What have I done?"


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

I pulled Loki into my lap and cradled his head in my arms, crying uncontrollably. Tears streamed down my face, falling onto Loki's face and uniform. He was wearing it when I ran into the room and I had hoped it would protect him from the blow. I was so distraught and miserable that I didn't notice Loki's eyelids flutter slightly as my tears landed on his face. It wasn't until he spoke in no more than a broken whisper,

"Jenny." I sniffed and looked down at his face,

"Loki?" His eyes fluttered open,

"Jenny, I'm so-" He turned his head and coughed up blood. He struggled to gasp out the words,

"Please... hospital..." My eyes widened and I yelled desperately, "Thor please help me get him to the hospital!" Thor looked at me and said,

"Why, he's dead. I killed him." I squeezed my eyes shut,

"Fine! I'll do it myself!" I looked down at Loki and whispered, "It's alright Loki, I'll get you help." He had gone unconscious again so I took a deep breath and put his arm around my shoulders and lifted him to his feet as gently as I could. He was a lot heavier than he looked and I struggled underneath his unconscious body. I eventually managed to drag him out of the room and into the hallway. I saw a guard walking down the hallway and called out, my voice coming more desperate and worried than I had wanted, "Hey! Help me!" The guard turned and ran down the hallway towards us. As he got closer I recognised him as Owen from the other day, "Owen, thank god. Can you please help me get Loki to a medical ward of some kind?" Loki regained consciousness long enough to cough blood again and cry out in pain. Blood trickled down his chin and I looked at Owen urgently, "We need to hurry. Please!" He sprung into action, putting Loki's other arm around his shoulders and we hurried down to the medical ward. We got there in a matter of minutes and we burst through the doors. Nurses surrounded us and took Loki away and laid him on a bed and immediately started treating him. I stood in shock with Owen as we watched the nurses buzz around him. We stood there for a good five minutes before one of the nurses came up to me and said,

"He doesn't look too good but I think he'll pull through." I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and said quietly,

"What's wrong with him?" She sighed and said,

"He's got several broken bones, a punctured lung, badly damaged internal organs and seems to be bleeding internally." I suddenly felt panicked and looked at her with a wild urgency in my eyes,

"You'll be able to save him right? You won't let him die. You can't. You have to save him. Please." Owen put a comforting arm around me and said reassuringly,

"It'll be alright Jenny, here come take a seat. Let her get back to work." The nurse nodded a thank you at him as he returned the nod. Owen lead me to the line of plain white couches at the edge of the room and sat me down. I started wringing my hands nervously as he sat down beside me, he took both my hands in his and looked me in the eyes and said soothingly, "Hey, he'll be alright. He's Loki right? He can do anything." I smiled at him,

"Yeah. You're right. He'll be fine." I repeated, trying to convince myself more than anyone. Owen squeezed my hands gently and said quietly,

"So what happened exactly?" I shrugged and looked down,

"I don't know." I said, half lying, "All I know is that when I walked into the room, I watched Thor hit Loki with his hammer. I honestly thought that Loki was dead. He didn't have a pulse or anything." Owen stared at me,

"Wow. I always thought Loki and Thor were really close. I wonder what happened." He stared off in the direction of Lokis bed. I gave a small shrug and shook my head, gazing at the floor intently. Then I came to the sudden realization that I had been the cause of all of this. I had been the source of conflict between the two brothers. I suddenly stood up,

"I have to go." Owen stood up next to me,

"What? Why? Where are you going?" I looked at him sadly,

"I was the cause of all of this and if I stay here any longer there will just be more pain. I have to leave this place and never return." Owen looked at me in shock,

"Jenny, you can't blame yourself for this. I'm sure it wasn't your fau-" I interrupted,

"But it was! This is all because of me and if I don't leave now, more harm will come to Loki and I love him to much to see that happen." A lump started to form in my throat and my eyes started to water. Owen looked at me,

"Jenny..." but he couldn't think of anything to say. I sighed and kissed Owen on the cheek,

"Thanks Owen, I wish we could have spent more time together." We both smiled and I walked over to Lokis bedside. The staff had him hooked up to an IV and had him on a high dose of painkillers. He had his eyes closed and he was taking shallow breaths. I thought he was asleep as I slid my hand into his and was surprised when he tightened his grip around my hand. He slowly opened his eyes and said in a very quiet voice,

"Please... don't... leave." He spoke in broken sentences because of lack of breath. I squeezed his hand as a tear rolled down my cheek,

"I don't have a choice. If I stay you'll just get hurt and I can't let that happen to you anymore than I already have." He shook his head. I sighed and took a deep breath and kissed him on the forehead, "I'm sorry, my love." A tear slid from the corner of his eye,

"No... Jenny, please... don't go." Another tear shed,

"I have too. I'm sorry." His grip tightened on my hand and I shook my head, "If you love me you'll let me go." He smiled weakly,

"I love you... too much... to do that." I sighed and pulled up a chair and sat down,

"I'm so sorry I did this to you." He chuckled softly,

"You didn't... do anyth... anything." I brushed a stray piece of hair out of his face and said quietly,

"Get some rest. I promise I won't leave." He smiled slightly and closed his eyes, breathing slowing, bare chest falling and rising ever so slightly. I leaned my head on the side of his bed, on top of our intertwined hands and fell asleep.

I was awoken by one of the nurses gently shaking me awake,

"Sorry to wake you dear, but we need to put the prince in healing chamber which will put him in a sort of coma." My eyes widened,

"No. Please don't take him away from me." She smiled warmly,

"Don't worry, you'll be allowed to stay with him. This is just to speed up the healing process, he'll still be able to hear you but he won't be able to reply." I slowly nodded,

"Will I be able to touch him?" She nodded again,

"Yes. But try not to disturb the field too much." I nodded and stood up. They wheeled Loki into another room and transferred him onto a slightly larger bed. As soon as they did, he was surrounded by a transparent gold field. It shimmered slightly and it made Loki look so peaceful and calm. I moved to stand beside his bed as a different nurse brought in a more comfortable looking chair for me to sit in. I thanked her and curled up in the chair, just looking at his sleeping form. The head nurse smiled and gave me a small pat on the shoulder, "Let me know if you need anything, dear." I nodded and stared at Loki, mesmerised by the field around him. After a while, I unwrapped my arms from around my knees and put my feet on the floor to lean forward. I cautiously reached for Loki's hand, the gold shivered slightly for a moment and returned to normal. I sighed and said,

"That nurse back there said that you'd be able to hear me. Well, I just wanted you to know that even while I love you with all my heart, sometimes, you scare me. I know you probably can't help it but, I need you to try to stop. It just causes both of us pain, physical and mental. I'm not saying that I'm leaving you or anything, it's just sometimes I wonder..." My voice trailed off and I looked down at the floor. I glanced back at Loki a single tear was sliding slowly down his cheek. I put my hand in to wipe it away, "Don't cry, darling, I will always love you to the ends of the world. Don't you ever forget that." I squeezed his hand again and drew my knees up to my chest again and wrapped my arms around them. I rested my chin between my knees and watched Loki until I fell asleep in the chair.


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

For the next three days, I hardly ever left Lokis side. Barely eating, sleeping only when I could no longer keep my eyes open and only getting up to use the bathroom. I neither heard from nor saw Thor or Owen while I was there. Owen probably thought that I had left, which I fully intended to do, but when Loki asked me to stay, I just couldn't leave him. Thor probably still thought that Loki was dead, and was off destroying one thing or another. It was only Frigga that came to see Loki, neither of us felt like taking, so we just sat there in silence, carefully watching Loki for any signs of life other than the steady rise and fall of his chest. Eventually, Frigga spoke softly,

"Jenny dear, go clean yourself up a little bit. I'll stay here with him." I shook my head and glanced up at her,

"I can't leave him. I promised." Frigga stood up and walked over to me, embracing me in a tight hug,

"It will be alright. I'll be right here with him. Go and take a nice hot shower, that will make you feel much better." I sighed, and decided that I was in dire need of a shower. So I stood up and leaned over to Loki and whispered,

"I'll be back soon babe. Don't go anywhere okay?" With one last glance at him I walked away, casting Frigga a worried look over my shoulder before gently closing the door behind me. I sighed again and leaned back against the door, tilting my head up towards the ceiling and closing my eyes,_ 'Oh god, I probably look like shit... Oh well, screw it.'_ I smiled to myself at my sudden realization of appearance. Mentally forcing myself to walk down the hallways to Lokis chamber was harder than I thought. I was stiff from staying in the chair for the past three days and my body was weak from lack of sleep and food. When I finally stumbled into Lokis chambers, I went straight to the bathroom and ran a hot bath, adding a small amount of bubble bath. I slid into the hot water and felt my tense muscles relax and my worries melt away for just a bit. I stayed in the bath for a little while, just to loosen up a bit, then I took a hot shower and cleaned myself up. By the time I walked out of the bathroom, wearing just a towel, I felt worlds better. I found some comfortable clothes to wear and quickly headed back to the hospital room, my worries for Loki refreshing themselves in my mind. I walked swiftly down the corridor and opened the door to find Frigga speaking softly to the comatose Loki,

"Your father wishes he could come visit you, but he isn't feeling well en- Oh, Jenny's back darling." I smiled warmly at her and stood next to Loki's bed, taking his hand gently and sitting down,

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" I asked. Frigga looked up at me and shrugged replying with,

"Not really dear, although the field around him has seemed to lighten in colour which is a good sign, meaning that he will be well again in a short amount of time." I snapped my head up and looked at her,

"Really?!" She grinned and nodded,

"Indeed. He will be up and about in no time." I laughed and a smile lit up my face,

"That's amazing news!" I bent over and kissed Loki on the cheek and whispered so that only he and I could hear, "Hurry up would you? My birthday's tomorrow and I don't want you to miss it." I straightened up and could've sworn I saw his eyelids flutter slightly. But when I blinked and looked at him, he looked as still as ever. Frigga cleared her throat slightly and stood up,

"Well, I had better get going. I'll see you later darling." She walked over to me and planted a small kiss on the top of my head. I smiled up at her and nodded,

"Tell Odin I said hello would you?" She smiled,

"Of course dear." I waved goodbye as she walked out the door. I looked back towards Loki and noticed that the glow around him was definitely more transparent than it was, even a few minutes ago. I sighed and said absentmindedly, "That must be a good sign." My eyes were out of focus and I was staring at the wall across from me. I was so unfocused that I didn't notice the hand I was holding, tighten slightly around my own. It was only when I heard a quiet voice speak did I snap back into reality,

"Jenny..." I immediately looked down and discovered that the field around Loki had completely disappeared and his eyes were open. Still holding tightly to Loki's hand, I jumped out of my chair and gave him a tight hug. Then, suddenly remembering that he probably still had multiple injuries I loosened my grip and straightened up, looking him in the face. We were both grinning happily and tears of joy and relief were running down my cheeks. He reached his hand up to wipe them away, I sniffed and said quietly,

"I'm so happy you're back. I thought you were dead." I once again bent down and laid my head on his chest. He gently stroked my hair and chuckled lightly,

"I promised I'd never leave you and I intend to keep that promise for as long as I can." I smiled to myself and slowly straightened up again,

"I'll let you rest for a while, you don't seem to be in the greatest condition at the moment." I started to walk away but he grabbed my hand,

"Stay. Please." I nodded and took my place in the chair. He looked at me and make a disapproving clicking noise with his tongue. I raised an eyebrow, looking for an explanation. He grinned, letting go of my hand and scooting over on his bed and patting the newly opened spot next to him. I rolled my eyes and climbed up onto the bed, curling up on my side next to him. Even though he was laying on his back, he found a way to look down at me. I stared into his face and slid into the deep green pools of his eyes, for a moment it seemed as if everything melted away except him. I was so lost in his eyes that I didn't notice him leaning towards me and my the time I did our lips had already met. His lips were soft against mine and I let his tongue roam over my teeth and explore my mouth, but there was something different about his kiss. It seemed wrong somehow, not like Loki. When we pulled away, he was smiling down at me, "God. I've missed you." I laughed and gave him another quick kiss on the lips,

"Good night Loki." As I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled up to his side I heard him whisper,

"Good night my love." I shut my eyes and smiled, drinking in his scent that I had missed so much. It was so nice to be close to him again, I always felt so safe and secure around him, even in his weakened state. I did truly love him with all my heart. I felt a thick, muscular arm drape around my shoulders..._ 'Wait. Loki wasn't this bulky.'_ I sat straight up in bed and my eyes snapped open,

"LOKI!" I screamed. I frantically looked around and saw that I was in Thor's chambers and it was Thor that lay next to me in the bed. Thor sat up next to me looking slightly alarmed but mostly sad and hurt. I broke out into sobs, tears once again stinging my eyes. Thor went to go put an arm around me as a gesture of comfort but I pushed it off and jumped out of the bed, "No. Don't touch me." I yelled through my tears. Already wearing pajamas, I ran out of the room, Thor calling after me. I didn't listen and ran blindly down the hallways, crying uncontrollably, the salty tears blurring my vision. Part of my dream had been true, I had brought Loki to a hospital with Owens help, but his injuries had been much, much worse and none of the nurses actually knew if he was going to make it through or not. That was nearly a week ago now, and I hadn't been allowed to see him at all during that time. I came to a stop outside a set of tall doors and turned the handle slowly and stepped inside the room. The starched white room glowed in the dim lighting, I silently slipped into the hospital room and tiptoed over to the only bed in the room. Loki lay as still as death, and looked almost as pale and thin. He was covered in bandages and had tubes sticking out of him at every angle. He was in a coma and on life support and part of me was regretting the decision to come see him. I bit back the tears and gently wrapped my fingers around a bandaged hand, whispering as quietly as I could with the ever growing lump in my throat, "Hold on Lokes. Hold on for me. I need you." My voice cracked and I started to cry again. I pressed my head against Lokis hand and held onto it tightly. I felt my knees getting weaker and realised I could no longer stand up by myself. I collapsed onto the floor in a heap of sobs as the rosy light of dawn stretched across the room to rest on Lokis bed. I knew that in a while, more nurses would start to stream into the room to find some way to stick another needle into my beautiful Loki and claim it was helping. I pulled myself together and managed to stand up. I looked at him and almost started crying again, but bit back the tears. I leaned down and gently kissed him on the lips, after pulling away I whispered, "I miss you babe." I straightened up and turned away, slipping quietly out the door, shutting it behind me. I didn't want to interact with anyone right now, so I slipped into Lokis chambers and grabbed a pair of shoes, heading for the stables. I found Annabeth and saddled her up, riding swiftly out of the stables and out into the open fields. We galloped far over the hills for a good 20 minutes until the palace was only just visible on the horizon. I dismounted and gave Annabeth a soft pat on the neck, she looked at me with a look as if asking me for permission, "Go ahead and eat some grass girl, you deserve it." She whinnied softly and nuzzled her nose to my cheek. I smiled and gave her another pat, I sat down in the soft grass, pulling my knees up to my chest and clasping my hands in front of me. I gazed out over the fields towards the palace, sighing deeply, I silently made a wish, _'Please bring Loki back to me.'_ I put my head in my arms and started to cry again. Annabeth came up beside me and laid down next to me, occasionally nuzzling my leg to make sure I was okay. A cold breeze sprung up and I shivered and tried to make myself smaller, wishing I had brought a jacket along with my short sleeved pajama top. I stood up, as did Annabeth, "You ready to head back girl?" She nodded her head and whinnied. I smiled and hopped back into the saddle, "Okay. No rush Anna. Take your time." She started along at a gentle walk and we were back at the stables within an hour. I took off the saddle and gave her a good wash down and a bucket of oats. With one last pat I left and returned to the palace.


	35. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

I trudged sleepily back into the palace and through the hallways. I decided not to go back to Thor and instead go to Lokis chamber. I crept along the corridor, trying to muffle the echo of my footsteps. After what seemed like an age, I arrived at Lokis bedroom door, I slipped inside and locked the door behind me. I went to the closet and found a low cut, slim, dark red velvet dress and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. I turned on the water and stepped into the shower. I winced at the touch of the hot water on my skin, and let myself adjust to the temperature. I sighed sadly and massaged some shampoo into my hair. I thought about Loki and the condition that he was in and how long he'd been like that and was there any chance of recovery and... I shook my head clear of the thoughts and started to sing to try and cheer myself up. Needless to say, it worked, and pretty soon I was singing at the top of my lungs. All thoughts of Loki and everything else temporarily absent from my mind. I stepped out of the shower, feeling a little more lighthearted than this morning. I slipped on my dress and grabbed a pair of black flats. Unlocking the door, I walked in the direction of the dining room, enjoying the echo of my footsteps off the walls, to see if anyone was in. I hummed as I walked and as I rounded a corner I nearly ran into Owen. Neither of us was really focusing on what was happening and we both started to apologise, then we both looked up at each other and smiled. I grinned and we hugged, then I said,

"Oh! Sorry Owen! I haven't seen you in a while, how've you been?" He smiled back politely,

"Yeah, sorry. I've been well. And you?" I shrugged, sighed and said quietly,

"As well as I can be I suppose." He smiled sadly at me and nodded understandingly,

"I know what you mean." I shrugged and looked up at him,

"Hey, would you like to join me for breakfast?" He smiled and bowed slightly,

"I would be honoured, my lady." I laughed and gave him a light shove,

"Oh stop, it's just Jenny and the honour is all mine, Mr. Royal Guardsman Sir." We both laughed and started walking towards the dining room again. I then realised that Owen was probably doing something, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important, was I?" He thought for a bit, then shook his head,

"No, not really. I was just making my normal rounds. There should be another guy to cover me." Here he paused and looked down at me and smiled, "I'll just say I was invited to dine with a lady of Asgard." I giggled, and curtsied as he opened the door to the main dining room. We walked in together and sat at the end of one of the long tables, "So, got any cravings?" Owen asked. I thought for a moment and finally said,

"Yeah actually, I've had a really bad craving for waffles for a long time." He grinned and beckoned over one of the waiters that was standing around the edges of the room,

"Two stacks of waffles with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, powdered sugar and syrup on the side for the lady and I. Thank you." The waiter bowed and turned away, as soon as he did I let out a giggle. Owen looked up at me with a questioning glance,

"Well just look at you, all important and stuff." We both laughed and I rolled my eyes, "And how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a lady. I'm really just a nobody here." Owen gave me a scolding look as if taken aback,

"A nobody you say? You seem to be in an intimate relationship with one of the princes of Asgard. To me, that makes you a lady." I blushed and shrugged,

"Think of me as you wish, but I still prefer you to call me Jenny. 'My lady' sounds much too formal for me." I smiled up at him, and he smiled back and shrugged lightly,

"As you wish, Jenny." I laughed and replied,

"Hey, you catch on pretty fast." Owen just sighed and rolled his eyes playfully, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. We chatted for a while and Owen filled me in about what was happening around the palace, since I had been fairly scarce for the past week or so. After a few minutes two men in white aprons came out of a set of double doors each carrying a silver plate piled high with waffles. The men set the plates down in front of us and my stomach growled. I picked up the little jug of syrup and drizzled a healthy amount over my waffles, Owen did the same and we grinned at each other before cutting into the stack of food in front of each of us. We took our first bites at the same time, the combination of the light, fluffy texture of the excellently made waffles, the creaminess of the whipped cream, the powdery sugar and the sweet, bright taste of the fresh strawberries combined to make the most heavenly breakfast I have ever come across. I stared in shock from the stack of waffles to Owen for a good few minutes before tearing back into the breakfast. His expression changed from amusement to astonishment as I devoured my plate, I would have been amazed at my stamina and ability to consume that amount of food, but since it was my first proper meal in around seven days, I wasn't. Owen ate about ¾ of his stack before declaring he was full and gawked at me while I basically licked my plate clean,

"My god Jenny, when was the last time you had a proper meal?" I shrugged,.

"I dunno. A week, maybe longer." His mouth dropped open,

"Are you serious? Jenny, you need to eat more." I shrugged again,

"Well, I guess I kinda forgot, I've been kind of busy…" I pointed at his plate and said casually, "You gonna finish those?" He shook his head and pushed his plate towards me politely,

"You never cease to amaze me Jenny." I smiled at him with my mouth full and he laughed out loud. After I finished the rest of his breakfast and had something to drink we started to talk some more. Both of us were really full and didn't really feel like moving, so we just stayed where we were. After a while of chat I asked Owen a question I had been thinking about all day,

"Do you know a place where I can hide?" Owen stared at me concerned and a little curiously,

"Yeah, sure, but wh-" I cut him off,

"I just need to get away from Thor and everything else for a while." He nodded,

"You're welcome to stay with me for a while, if you want. Or I have a friend, Lyra, who I'm sure would be willing to lend you a place to stay for a while. She's really sweet and if you needed some female company instead of hanging out with all us guys." I smiled gratefully,

"Thank you so much Owen. I don't know what I would do without you." He grinned and replied,

"Crash and burn." We both laughed and got up from our chairs. I sighed contentedly and said, "Ready to go?" He nodded and we walked out of the dining room. We walked for a while in silence before I asked suddenly,

"Owen," He looked over at me,

"Yeah?" I stared at the ground,

"Do... do you think Loki is going to survive?" He sighed and put his arm around my shoulders in a friendly way and pulled me closer to him comfortingly,

"You know what?" He looked down at me and squeezed my shoulders reassuringly, "I think he will. If he hasn't given up by now, he's not going too any time soon. I also think he's going to make it because he has such a beautiful woman to come back too." I smiled and looked up at him,

"You sure do talk pretty." He laughed and I poked him in the ribs, "Shut up, flattery isn't going to work on me, I'm not that pretty. Where are we going anyways." He laughed again and shrugged,

"I don't know. Where do you want to go?" I pushed his arm off my shoulder and shouldered him lightly,

"I thought you had a plan!" He laughed,

"Ha! Me? Plan? Unheard of!" He replied, shouldering me back. I thought for a moment,

"Can we go practice fighting techniques?" He nodded and glanced over at me,

"Sure. You gonna train in that, though?" He gestured towards my dress. I snorted and retorted sarcastically,

"Yeah. Totally. I'm just that cool." I paused and he looked at me, slightly befuddled. I laughed and continued, "Of course I'm not! It was sarcasm you idiot. If we stop by Lokis room, I can get changed and we can go from there." He nodded,

"Sounds good. Let's go." We changed direction and walked back towards Lokis room. Within a few short minutes we arrived and Owen and I walked in. Owen looked around and made a slight huff of approvement, "Nice room. Pays to be royalty, huh?" I chuckled and nodded as I walked into the closet,

"Yep. I won't be a moment." Owen called out a reply, but I couldn't hear him. I found my training gear and jumped out of the dress and put on the gear. I adjusted my top and laced up my boots, walking out of the closet I spun around and heard Owen do a low whistle,

"Lookin' good." I grinned and bowed at the waist, grabbing my sword from the corner of the room and fastening the hilt to my belt. I stopped and looked at him,

"Ready?" He grinned and held out and arm,

"Ready." I skipped over to him and instead of taking his arm I grabbed his elbow and pulled him along the hallway and outside to the training area. I ran and Owen stumbled along behind me occasionally shouting, "Jenny, slow down a minute!" I just laughed and kept running, slowing down a little bit when we got to the doorway. A little out of breath, I turned around and grinned at Owen, who had his hands on his knees and was breathing heavily,

"A little out of shape there are we?" He laughed breathlessly and straightened up,

"No. You were just running too fast." I smiled mischievously and replied,

"Outrun by a girl, how sad." I shrugged my shoulders dramatically and let my hands slap my thighs, "And here I was thinking that you were all manly and stuff." I sighed, "Oh well…" He crossed his arms across his chest and looked at me, I mirrored his pose in a challenging stance,

"Was that a challenge I heard?" I gave him a half grin and raised an eyebrow,

"Would you take it if it was?" He gave me a wide grin,

"Damn straight I would." I uncrossed my arms and placed my hands on my hips,

"Alright lets do it. You get to pick the challenge..." I paused for a moment and he said,

"Great." I put a finger up and continued,

"BUT, I get 30 minutes to practice in whatever skill you choose." He shrugged, too confidently and replied,

"Okay, fine. It's a deal." He held out his hand and I shook it once.

"No going back on your word." He had a serious face on,

"Never." I grinned and dropped his hand,

"Great! Any ideas for the first the challenge?" He smiled,

"Oh yes. How does archery sound?" I shrugged, and crossed my arms,

"Never tried it. Sounds like fun though." He laughed and said,

"Okay, let's go. You can have your 30 minutes."


	36. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

We smiled at each other started walking. We walked along and pretty soon Owen gave me a shove, and I of course shoved him back. Then we were pushing each other and laughing hysterically, until we got to the archery arena. There were a few other people around, practicing and I watched them and tried to observe the stance and techniques they were using. Owen tapped me on the shoulder, "You're going to need a bow if you ever want to get anywhere." I laughed and nodded, letting him guide me to a small shed on the outskirts of the clearing. We walked inside and I looked around with wide eyes. He pulled me over to a rack lined with beautifully carved bows and he searched through them. After about a minute and a half he turned back to me and handed me a bow made of white wood and had intricately carved designs winding their way around the wood, "This should work for you." I gazed at the beautiful bow and held it up, pulling the string back to my cheek, as I had seen the others doing. Owen laughed and corrected my position, I released the string as it made a satisfying twanging sound. I turned to Owen,

"Thanks. Do I get a quiver to?" He grinned and turned, producing a quiver of arrows that matched the bow, from behind him. He handed them to me with a slight bow,

"M-" I took the quiver from him and pointed at him,

"Don't even think about it." He grinned and winked at me. I rolled my eyes and said, "I'm going to go figure out how this works now, if you don't mind." He laughed and said,

"'Course not. Be my guest." I sniffed, over dramatically and spun on my heel, walking out the door. I heard Owen's laughter from behind me and I cracked a smile. Owen really was a great friend, and he had been a huge help with everything that has been going on in the past week or so. I found an open target that no one was using and lined up, a fairly large distance, away from it. I planted my feet, trying to recreate the position that Owen put me in earlier. Once I thought that I was close enough to it, I pulled an arrow from the quiver strapped to my back. Keeping my elbows close, I pulled the string and arrow back to my cheek. Taking a deep breath and focusing on the dead center of the target, I pulled the string back a little further and released. I watched the arrow sail through the air and hit the outermost ring of the target. I shrugged,

"Well, at least it hit. That's a start I guess." I shot at least 12 more arrows before I hit the very edge of the bullseye circle. I went over to the target and collected my arrows and started again. I planted my feet and slotted an arrow in the bow, taking a deep breath, I aimed the point directly at the center of the target and drew my hand back to my ear. Exhaling the breath and watching the arrow sail straight through the air and hit the target, dead center. I whooped and jumped in the air, in triumph. I had finally managed to hit my target, _'Was it unusual for people to catch on this fast? Was it kind of like the daggers? Do I just have a natural talent with weapons?'_ I thought. I sighed and tried again, to make sure it wasn't just a stroke of luck. I aimed for a spot just above the existing arrow and was only a little bit off my mark. I smiled and practiced my accuracy. Then, Owen showed up behind me and clapped a hand over my eyes. Instinctively, I dealt him an elbow to the ribs and kicked his feet out from under him, dropping him to the ground. I heard a familiar groan and turned around to find Owen sprawled on his back. I gasped and knelt beside him, "Oh god, Owen! I. Am. SO sorry! Are you alright? Can you sit up? Here, let me help you sit up." I gently eased him into a sitting position as he took short wheezing breaths, slowly regaining his breath, as he had just got the wind knocked out of him. I apologized profusely, over and over again, until he managed a breathy laugh,

"What the hell Jenny?! How do you have such amazing reflexes? What has Loki been teaching you?" I let out a rather nervous laugh and replied,

"I don't know, I guess you surprised me and it kind of came naturally, I didn't really think about it. I'm really, really sorry. Loki and I never practiced hand to hand combat, I honestly don't know what happened." He stood up and I followed his action,

"That's truly incredible. I'm very impressed." I smiled sheepishly in return and managed to squeeze out a meager,

"Thanks." He gave me a solid pat on the back,

"Well, anyways, I came to tell you that your 30 minutes are up. Ready for the first challenge? " I looked over at him and grinned wildly, nodding,

"Yeah, let's do this shit!" He laughed and I retrieved my arrows from the target and called back over my shoulder,

"Where's this challenge going to be, then?" He shrugged as I walked back towards him,

"Here?" He suggested. I shook my head and replied,

"No, that would give me an unfair advantage." He nodded in agreement,

"Right. Let's find another target then." We walked around the clearing and quickly found another target that wasn't in use, everyone seemed to have left. Owen and I exchanged curious glances and I shrugged. We both stood around 50 feet from the target and Owen had volunteered to go first. I grinned at him and said,

"Shall we begin?" Owen laughed and stepped up to the line,

"I do believe we shall..." His voice fading as he focused on his target. I stood to the side and silently watched as he let go of the arrow and it flew through the air, hitting the ring just outside the bullseye. I snickered silently as he turned around, looking slightly dejected. He soon covered up his disappointment and said, "Let's see you do better, then." I shrugged and smiled over at him,

"Well, I'll give it a shot, but I don't know if I can." He grinned and sauntered off to the sidelines as I stepped up to the line. I readied my stance and inhaled a deep breath, placing the arrow and drawing the string back beside my cheek, I exhaled and released the string. The arrow hit its target, right in the center of the bullseye. I turned around and smiled smugly at Owen, as he stood with his mouth hanging open and a look of pure shock plastered across his face.

I waltzed over to him and lifted his chin with a finger,

"Close your mouth Owen, we are not cod fish." He closed his mouth and just stared at me, with complete and utter shock painted across his face. I smiled, turned and started walking away, "Well, 1-0 me, then, is it?" Owen eventually caught up to me and found his voice enough to say,

"Where... Did you learn to shoot like that?" I flashed him a wide grin,

"Oh, so you can talk. That's a relief." He just rolled his eyes. I smiled and continued, "I learned this afternoon. I swear I've never even held a bow and arrow before today. I guess I just have a natural talent when it comes to weaponry." I paused and looked over to Owen and he nodded as I continued, "I was with Loki one time and he had a dagger with him and I threw it at a tree and it stuck. The first time I threw it. I had never done anything like it before." I glanced at him for any sort of clarification. He just walked next to me with his brow furrowed. Finally he said,

"That does sometimes happen, but it's very, very rare, especially among humans. Although usually they do have a weaker skill set, but you said that you've been good at everything you've tried so far, right?" I nodded,

"Yeah, I wasn't that great at sword fighting with Loki, but I caught on quickly." It was Owen's turn to nod as he rubbed the back of his neck,

"Yeah, Loki is another person that seems to be good at everything. I don't know whether he's like you, or if he's practiced so much that he's built up the skills he has." I shrugged,

"You never know with Loki, he's a bit of a mystery." Owen nodded in agreement.


	37. Chapter 36

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 36/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"We walked along for a bit until we reached the main training area. We both took a moment to observe the people training and looked at each other, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""So, you kicked my ass in the first challenge and now we know you'll probably kick my ass in most of the other ones too, what's next?" I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I don't know, I'd like to see what my weak point is so that I can practice more." Owen nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good call." He paused for a moment and he waved to someone across the field and they waved back, he continued, "But first, there's someone I want you to meet." I raised an eyebrow at him as he smiled and linked arms with me and dragged me along. As we got closer, I saw that a woman that looked about my age, was walking toward us smiling. Owen slid his arm out of mine and the two greeted each other and embraced. He turned to me and introduced me, "Jenny, I'd like you to meet my friend Lyra." We exchanged friendly smiles and shook hands, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""A pleasure to meet you!" She grinned and bowed slightly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""The pleasure is all mine, my lady." I laughed and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's just Jenny, and there's no need to bow, honestly. I'm no one special." She sent me another smile and seemed to relax slightly. Owen turned to her and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey Lyra, can I speak with you for a second?" She nodded and excused herself politely. Owen gave me a nod, indicating that he was going to ask her if I could stay with her for a while. I nodded back, understanding, and turned to watch the selection of guardsmen/women that were practicing with various weapons. I randomly realised that I was standing about halfway up a hill just outside the training field, I took a seat on the grass and continued people watching. After a few minutes Owen and Lyra came back and I stood to greet them, they both smiled at me and Owen said, "Lyra said she would be thrilled to take you in for a few days!" I grinned at Lyra as she came over and gave me a tight hug, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Owen told me what you've gone through over the past few weeks and can I just say, that sucks. I'm so sorry to hear that and anything I can do to help, I will." She pulled back and had both hands on each of my shoulders. I smiled back at her and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thank you so much Lyra. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate this." She gave me another friendly smile and gave me a reassuring pat on the arm, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No problem! It'll be great to make new friend!" We both giggled and we turned to look at Owen who was standing behind us, gazing out over the field. When he noticed we'd stopped talking he turned and raised an eyebrow questioningly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""All set?" We both nodded and I said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'd like to work on fighting for a little bit longer-" I paused casting a glance at Lyra, "If that's okay?" She shrugged and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's fine with me and just so you know, you'll be staying with Owen for a day or two so that I can set up your room and everything." I nodded and smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No problems, that sounds great!" She grinned and asked curiously, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What method of fighting were you planning on practicing?" I shrugged and looked to Owen for advice. Owen cleared his throat and said,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, uh, I don't know where to begin, with you. If we're right, you'll be good at everything, but you must have a weaker skill set in something." Lyras eyes widened, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're one of those too?!" I shrugged and nodded slowly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I guess so, I'm not 100 percent sure what that means yet." She looked from Owen to me in astonishment, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Owen, why didn't you tell me?!" He put his hands up defensively and replied quickly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey, you never asked." She just rolled her eyes and turned back to me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""That's so cool. It's very rare for anyone to have it and there's only a couple people here who possess your gift, Loki being one of them." My eyes widened in surprise, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Really?! I just thought he was really good with a sword. What is this 'gift' called anyways?" She shrugged her shoulders slightly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Not sure. I just call them Weaponsmiths, I think it sounds cool." I grinned and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're right, it does. Oh, if I am a... Weaponsmith, then why have I been kidnapped so many times and not able to fight back?" She sat down and patted the grass next to her. I sat and she looked at me and answered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, I don't know much, nobody does, but I think that it... kind of activates itself, for lack of a better word, when the person is introduced into weaponry and fighting." I nodded thoughtfully, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Makes sense. What else do you know?" She looked over the field and said solemnly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Not much I'm afraid, just that the Weaponsmiths possess exceptional skills in almost every type of weaponry and fighting method there is. Their weak point is the one type of fighting they aren't good at, whatever that may be. It is even more rare that one doesn't have a weaker skill." She paused and glanced over at me with intense curiosity, "You said you haven't found your weak point yet, right?" I nodded and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But I haven't tried much yet, only sword fighting and archery for the first time, today." I grinned over at Owen and he rolled his eyes playfully. Lyra looked up at Owen as well and a wide grin spread across her face, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh? What's this then, did somebody beat you in archery Owen?" Owen scoffed and we both cocked our heads and looked at him accusingly. He crossed his arms and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Fine. Yes, Jenny beat me. But she offered me a challenge and how could I not take it?!" Lyra and I laughed and Owen turned his back on us, huffing angrily. I leaned over to Lyra and said quietly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I also accidently beat him up too." We broke into a fit of giggles and I managed to continue, "But don't tell him I told you." She nodded and when Owen turned around to glare at us we just laughed harder. We eventually got ahold of ourselves and stood up still breathing deeply, controlling our laughter. She turned to me and gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""So, wanna go practice fighting?" I grinned and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You know it!" She laughed lightly and we walked down the hill together, Owen trailing sulkily behind. She threw me a curious glance, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Anything in particular you want to try out?" I shook my head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I don't even know where to begin." She thought for a moment, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey! How about knife throwing?" I nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""That sounds great! Although I have tried it once, with Loki." She nodded knowingly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""With that endless supply of daggers he's got?" I nodded, slightly taken aback, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah. How did you know?" My voice faded out, realisation hitting me like a brick wall, em'Of course I'm not the first woman in his life. I mean with a face like his, how could I be?'/em She smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Believe it or not, Loki and I used to be really good friends and we even went together for a while. But then something happened, as I'm sure he told you and I was stupid enough to leave him for my other friends. I tried to talk to him after that and apologise but he just pushed me away and turned his back on me and everyone else. I don't think he ever really forgave me." I sighed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm sorry to hear that. But I just knew there was someone else out there that had at least tried to talk to him. Thank you for that, even if he did push you away, at least you tried." She nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I wanted to help him more but I didn't know how, I was so young then." I smiled and gave her a quick hug, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey, it's alright, you did what you could." When I let go she gave me a sad smile,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Thanks Jen, I'm so happy you were able to get through to him. He's seemed so cold and alone for the longest time and it made me so sad." I smiled warmly at her and we reached a small corner of the massive field with a tall board of daggers and throwing knives of all sizes arranged on it. I smirked at the board and walked over to it, picking out a nice set of medium sized daggers. I walked back over to Lyra and she inspected them and nodded, giving her approval of them, "Nice choice. Not as pretty as Loki's though, am I right?" I gave her a short laugh and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, his were so elegant and intricate and beautiful." She smiled dreamily, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""The designs were what really captured my attention." I smiled at her, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Really? Same here." We smiled at each other, as if sharing memories and stories. After a moment I turned back to the square of field and saw a few targets in a far corner. I walked over so I was situated a fair distance away from it and lined myself up. Taking the tip of the blade of the dagger in my hand I threw it at the target. It hit with a thud in the middle of the second circle. I sighed, and tried again. This time it hit the inner rim of the second circle, almost touching the bullseye circle but not quite. This time I took a deep breath and focused hard on the very center of the target. I took the knife in my hand and threw it at the old wooden target. I watched it spin point over handle until I heard it hit the target with the thud of a sharp object embedding itself in wood. I opened my eyes and heard clapping behind me, the dagger had hit dead center. I turned around to find that both Owen and Lyra were applauding me. I grinned widely and bowed, after retrieving the daggers from the target I walked back to them, smiling. They both grinned at me and congratulated me again. Owen laughed and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well I guess knife throwing isn't a weak point." I laughed and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Nope, it took me longer to get archery right than it did for me to get this." Lyra smiled and looked between us, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving! Anyone for lunch?" Owen and I exchanged glances and shrugged, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I could eat." I said. He nodded and agreed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Same. But, Jenny how can you be hungry again after eating all of your breakfast and the rest of mine?" Lyra laughed and I shrugged and said sarcastically, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It might have something to do with the fact that I barely ate anything for the past week." Owen rolled his eyes and elbowed me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Fine. You win." Lyra and I laughed and exchanged a high-five. She grinned and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alright! Let's go find some food!" I placed the knives back on the board and followed her inside. All three of us had a lovely lunch of 'make your own' sandwiches and Lyra and I got to know each other a little better. As it turned out, we had a lot in common, we both had dark hair, we both preferred pants to dresses, we both loved to read etc. It was great, Owen and her had been childhood friends and they swapped embarrassing stories about each other while I sat and laughed. After lunch we decided that, if I was going to be staying with Owen, I was going to need some clothes. So we went back to Lokis room and I grabbed a three dresses, a couple pairs of jeans and sweatpants, a few t shirts, a sweatshirt, a selection of underwear, socks etc. and a pair of flats and a pair of converse. I stuffed these all in a large duffle bag I had found and walked out of the closet and dropped it on the bed. From the bathroom I grabbed, a hair brush, a toothbrush, toothpaste and shampoo and soap. I put these in the bag as well and zipped it up. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""There, done!" I exclaimed and the pair smiled at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Great!" Said Lyra, "Let's head over to Owen's room then." Owen nodded and added, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, we can hang out there for a while, as well." I smiled and slung the bag over my shoulder. As we walked out of Lokis room I looked back at it one more time and sighed before closing the door and catching up with my friends. They talked with one another and I stole a glance at Lyra. I smiled as I saw the way that she was looking at Owen. She obviously liked him, but Owen had no idea and treated her like any other of his friends. It made me kind of sad for a moment but sometimes in the things that Owen did and the way he said things, I wondered if he liked her. I walked quietly behind them, observing, for the rest of the walk to Owen's./span/p 


	38. Chapter 37

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 37/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"We all sat down in Owens room and we all got to know each other a bit better. But, after a while Lyra and Owen got talking about something that I had no idea about and I got bored. Just then an idea popped into my head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Could you guys excuse me for a second? I'm gonna go take a walk and get some fresh air." Owen and Lyra smiled at me and nodded, Owen started to get up and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Do you want us to come with you?" I shook my head as Lyra gently took Owen's arm, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I think Jenny might need a bit of time to herself." She gave me a nod as if guessing my intentions and I smiled gratefully and nodded back. I gave Owen a reassuring smile and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Owen nodded, and sat back down. I headed towards the door and opened it, "I'll be back in a bit guys." Just as I was leaving I heard Lyra call out, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's the fifth left!" I smiled and turned back the way we had come. When I got to the fifth door on my left, I opened it and found that it was indeed Lokis hospital room. My heart sank as I neared the bed of the only occupant of the room. Loki lay on the bed, surrounded by the shimmering golden light and looking as good as dead. I sighed heavily and brushed a piece of hair that had fallen across his face, away. I smiled faintly and sat in the chair next to his bed, crossing my arms and resting my arms next to him on the bed. I took a deep breath and started to talk, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hey there Lokes, I just wanted to tell you that a met a friend of yours. Her name's Lyra, I don't know if you remember her or not. She seems nice, she sends you her love." I paused as I watched a tear form at the corner of Loki's eye and slide sluggishly down his cheek. I quickly wiped it away and kissed his cheek, "No, please don't cry. I'm sorry, I didn't know. If it makes you feel better, I totally kicked Owen's ass in an archery challenge today and I've never done even picked up a bow or arrow before today. I also did some knife throwing, I liked your daggers much better though." I paused again as I thought I saw the corners of Loki's mouth twitch slightly. I grinned and continued, "See I told you it would make you feel better! Lyra said that I was a Weaponsmith or something and I was hoping that you might be able to tell me more about it when you wake up." I sighed and gently took his hand, "Please wake up soon Loki. Please, I miss you." A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek. I slowly stood up and kissed Loki gently on the lips and whispered, "I love you Loki." Another tear fell from my eye and landed on Loki's cheek. I sniffed and straightened up, wiping my eyes. I turned to go but cold fingers looped around my wrist. I gasped and turned around. Loki's eyes were open slightly and the field around him had disappeared. I clapped a hand over my mouth and let out a choked sob. Tears of happiness streamed down my face and I let out a strangled laugh. I stared at Loki, hardly believing what I saw. It wasn't until he said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you too." That I realised that it was really him. I ran back to the bed and threw my arms around him crying and laughing with relief, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh Loki I've missed you so much! I can't believe it's really you!" Despite his best efforts a small groan escaped Loki's lips. I immediately drew back, forgetting that he probably wasn't totally healed and apologising profusely. He just smiled and pulled me towards him, our lips clashed together with longing and a deep passion. I laced my fingers through his dark hair as he placed a hand on the back of my neck. We broke away and he grinned up at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I almost forgot how good of a kisser you were." I laughed and smiled back at him. He looked me up and down and remarked, "Nice outfit." I looked down and laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I forgot to change out of it after practice." Loki grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh, I'm not complaining, you look almost unbearably sexy in it." He tugged at my arm and I climbed onto the bed and straddled him. He grinned up at me as I leaned down and kissed him again. He moved his hands down to my waist and slid his fingers into the waistband of my pants. I pulled away from his lips and put my hands on his, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Not right now love, you need to recover first and it's technically not allowed unless we're married. It would be awkward if your mother walked in on us in the act." He laughed and smiled up at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I suppose you're right darling. But that doesn't stop us from kissing does it?" I grinned at him and bent down once again. We just laid on the hospital bed and kissed for ages, both overjoyed at the returned presence of the other. Finally, I sat up and hopped off the bed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You need to rest or you'll never get better." He smiled at me and placed a hand on my cheek, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""God, do I love you." I smiled and placed my hand over his, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you too Lokes but you need rest." He looked at me and his started to go all doughy and he started to pout slightly. I gasped and frowned at him, "Oh no! I am NOT falling for that look again!" He pouted at me a little more and I shook my head defiantly and turned to leave, Loki shouted, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wait!" I turned and looked at him skeptically, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No goodbye kiss?" I rolled my eyes and sighed, smiling. He was so hard to stay mad at. I walked over to the bed and tenderly placed a soft kiss on his lips. To which he responded by placing a hand behind my head and forcing our lips together, pushing his tongue into my mouth, hungrily claiming my mouth in a forceful kiss. When we pulled back for air I looked at him, he had that mischievous grin on his face and was grinning widely at me. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'll see you soon Loki, you loser." He threw up his arms and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What?! It's not my fault you're so gorgeous!" I laughed and looked over my shoulder at him, stuck my butt out and winked at him. He gave me a wolf whistle and I pranced out the door. Turning and saying before I closed it, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'll see you tomorrow okay?" He nodded and smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'll look forward to it darling." I blew him a kiss and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you." He blew one back and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you too." With that, I closed the door and skipped down the hallway back to Owens room. I burst through the door and found Lyra and Owen talking intently. They stopped dead and looked up when they heard come in. I had a huge grin on my face and Lyra stood up, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""How is he?" I ran over and hugged her, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""He's awake! He's finally awake and he's doing great!" Owen stood up and hugged us both, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""That's amazing news Jenny!" Lyra and I exchanged glances and laughed, hugged again and laughed some more. Both of us were so overjoyed that he was awake that neither of us could contain ourselves. Finally, we calmed down and we both sat down and I said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I was just wondering if it would still be possible for me to stay with either one of you for a few days while Loki recovers?" They both nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course!" They said in unison. I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Great! Thank you guys so much! It'll probably only be a few days, just until Loki is mostly healed." They nodded understandingly. Lyra said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You can stay with me if you don't mind sleeping on a couch for tonight." I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course not. That'd be totally fine." She grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Great! That settles it then! You can stay with me." I smiled at her, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wonderful, thanks so much Lyra. I really appreciate it." She gave me a wave of her hand, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's no problem, honestly." Owen yawned and Lyra spoke up, "We should probably get going, it's getting kind of late." I nodded and stood up, grabbing my duffle bag and giving Owen a hug, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks for today Owen, I had a great time." He smiled tiredly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Absolutely no problem, just give me a shout if you ever want to do it again." I smiled and patted him on the shoulder, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Will do." I headed towards the door and opened it. I turned around and saw Lyra and Owen exchanging a quick kiss on the lips and I grinned. em'I knew it!'/em I thought triumphantly. I waited outside the door and shortly after Lyra came out. We both waved goodbye to Owen and we continued down the hallway. When Lyra and I got to her room, which was about four doors down from Owen's, we changed into our pajamas and sat on her bed. I grinned and nudged her, "So, um, you and Owen eh?" She blushed and grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh, you saw that did you?" I giggled and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But don't worry, I won't tell." We both giggled and she said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""So what about you and Loki?" I shrugged nonchalantly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What about me and Loki?" She giggled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Did you guys 'do' anything while you were gone?" She emphasised the word 'do' and I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""He tried to but I told him he wasn't fully recovered. But we spent most of the time kissing." She laughed and leaned forward slightly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Have you guys done 'it' before?" Again she emphasised 'it' and I looked at her, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You mean had sex? Maybe we have, maybe we haven't." I grinned at her and she squealed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You have, haven't you!?" I didn't say anything, but quirked an eyebrow and kept grinning at her. She laughed and whispered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Is he any good? In bed, I mean." I laughed and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ohmygods yes. He's amazing. I wish I could explain it to you but there's just no words." She gasped and clapped her hands, bouncing on the bed slightly. She gave a little squeal and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ohmygosh! I'm so jealous!" I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You wouldn't be if you had to deal with him all the time! He can be a handful!" We both laughed and I yawned. Lyra smiled and grabbed an extra blanket and pillow from her bed and arranged them nicely on the large couch. She patted the pillow, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's all yours. The couch is actually quite comfortable." I yawned again and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks so much Lyra." I crawled under the covers and curled up. She chuckled and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""My pleasure. Feel free to drop by anytime that you need, I know how Loki can be sometimes." I smiled up at her and sighed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I might take you up on that offer." We both laughed and she walked over to her bed and climbed under the duvet, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good night Jenny." She flicked of the light, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good night Lyra." Pretty soon the only sounds was our shallow, sleeping breaths./span/p 


	39. Chapter 38

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 38/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"The first rays of early, gray dawn light were just beginning to filter into the room when I jolted awake. I slowly sat up and yawned, looking around for the reason that woke me. Then, a massive snore came from across the room. I glanced across the room at the bed, there was a figure, well, when I say figure, it was more like a huge wad of blankets. Lyra had managed to get herself into a giant blob of pillows and blankets that moved slightly every time she breathed. Another floor shaking snore emerged from the pile and I clapped my hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh. I took a deep breath and got up off the couch, grabbing an outfit out of my bag and tiptoeing as quietly as I could over to the bathroom. Once I had freshened up and changed, I slid on a pair of converse that I had brought and quietly slid out of the room, leaving the still snoring Lyra in her cave. I walked down the hall to Lokis hospital room door and quietly tapped on the door before opening it and sticking my head in. I shut the door behind me and called out softly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Anybody home?" I head Loki giggle and I walked over to the bed, but he was gone. I sighed slightly annoyed, "Loki. Get back into bed. Now." He came out from behind a curtain, wearing just a pair of boxers that were riding dangerously low on his hips, looking all innocent and apologetic. He looked surprisingly good for a guy that had been hit with the hammer of the gods a week and a half ago. I snapped out of my daze and pointed sternly to the bed, "C'mon, into bed, you're going to catch cold and you're still not entirely healed yet." He pouted at me and walked forward slowly, a small twinkle of mischief in his eye. I dropped my hand and stood where I was, watching him, suspiciously as he made his way closer and closer to me. When he got within a few feet of me, he draped his arms lazily across my shoulders, intertwining his long fingers behind my back. I looked up at him and we closed the gap between us, "You aren't wearing very many clothes..." I said, nonchalantly. He grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good observation." I rolled my eyes and blushed as he unclasped his hands and slid one to the small of my back and pulled me closer to him. I put my arms around his neck and as he leaned down and kissed me softly. I smiled and leaned into it, entwining my fingers in his dark, dark hair. He deepened the kiss and I let his so called 'silver tongue' make its way into my mouth. He slides his hands down to my thighs and lifts me off the ground. I am surprised at his strength and break away from the kiss for a minute,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You shouldn't be doing this, you could injure yourself further." He just gave me that sexy half smile of his and says breathlessly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Just shut up and kiss me okay?" I smiled and shrugged, taking both sides of his face in my hands and kissing him hard on the lips. I felt him grin against my lips and he walked over to the bed, placing me on it and sliding his hands under my shirt. I could feel his hands shaking and I knew that carrying me over here had out a lot of physical strain on him. I gently took his hands and pulled away from his lips, reluctantly. I looked at his face for a few seconds and could see that he was trying to hide the pain he was in, sighing, I said quietly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki, you really need to get back into bed and finish recovering." He looked at me and started to say, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But I fee-" I cut him off, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No you don't. I can see it in your face," he tried to make an argument but I put a finger to his lips to silence him, "You're in pain. I don't want you to get hurt anymore." I removed my finger from his lips and he looked down, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I suppose you're right, I'm sorry, I just... I just missed you so much, and it made me think that, if... if I died, I would never be able to see you again and I... can't let that happen." He paused and looked me straight in the eyes, putting a hand behind my ear and gently stroking my cheek, "I love you so much Jenny. I never want to lose you." He tilted my head slightly so that our foreheads rested together. I was very close to tears, but I managed to whisper, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you." He smiled tiredly and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I love you too." I suddenly put my hand on his and pulled it away from my face. I looked up at him and forced a smile, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You have to rest, Loki." I got up from the bed and helped him into it. He smiled gratefully at me and held up the covers as an invitation to climb in next to him. I grinned and we curled up next to each other in the large hospital bed. Loki on his back and I had my head in the crook of his elbow as sort of a pillow. It didn't take long for me to drift off to sleep again as I had been awoken at a ridiculous hour by Lyra's snoring and the fact that I felt more secure and safe in Lokis arms than anyone else's in the whole world. I don't know how long I'd been asleep for, but I was once again woken, but this time by a soft hand gently shaking me awake. I slowly wake up mumbling about how not nice it was to wake a person up so early. Pretty soon, I was aware of my surroundings and I looked over at Loki. I smiled at him, he smiled back, we kissed once or twice and I finally asked, "Why'd you wake me?" He brushed a piece of hair out of my face and gave a slight nod behind me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""We have visitors." I suddenly looked around and spotted Lyra and Owen standing behind me. Slightly embarrassed, I waved awkwardly to them, they waved back, laughing. Loki sat mostly upright and so did I, still holding hands, our legs were entangled, like the roots of a tree. We all exchanged greetings and Owen and Lyra talked to Loki, while I played with our intertwined fingers. He occasionally looked down and wrestled with my fingers as I giggled quietly. I only looked up when I heard my name come up in the conversation and immediately said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Huh?" The three laughed and Loki replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Owen and Lyra were proposing to take us out to dinner tonight if we were feeling up to it." I gave Loki a concerned look, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, I don't know, you seemed kind of tired this morning. I don't know if it's the best idea for you to be up and about today." He put a hand on my cheek and ran it along my jawline, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh Jenny, you're so adorable. I'll be fine, I'm feeling a lot better now than I was earlier." I took his hand and kissed his finger tips, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But if something were to happen and yo-" He cut me off and kissed my lips gently, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Darling, I'll be fine." He paused, his green eyes meeting mine and sincerely saying, "I promise." I sighed, reluctantly and turned my head to look at Lyra and Owen, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okay guys, sounds like a plan." Lyra smiled and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Great! It's a double date!" I grinned and almost unnoticeable Owen slid his hand into Lyra's. I glanced over at Owen and winked at him. He just rolled his eyes and smiled back at me. Loki looked from Owen to Lyra and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh, you guys are together now?" The pair glanced at each other and nodded, "Finally! I was wondering when you two were going to hook up. Although, do me a favour and just get a room already, you're making me blush." I laughed out loud and Owen and Lyra turned a bright red. Loki and I laughed and I hit him gently in the arm, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're so mean!" He grinned at me and I laughed again. He then randomly leaned over and started kissed me hungrily. I gently pulled away, "What was that about?" He just looked at me and smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You look so beautiful when you laugh, I couldn't resist." I giggled and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Easy there tiger, we still have visitors, remember?" Owen and Lyra stared at us open mouthed, suddenly Lokis voice popped into my head,em 'Not for long.'/em I glanced at him and grinned, sending a thought back knowing he'd probably get it,em 'Oh, behave would you?' /emHe chuckled slightly and Owen cleared his throat and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, uh, we better go, we'll see you guys tonight." Loki and I smiled politely, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Outside my room at 8?" Loki replied. The pair nodded and Lyra turned to wave goodbye at me as the turned to go. I waved back and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""See you tonight!" She grinned and called back, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Dress formal!" I laughed and nodded. As soon as the door closed behind them I turned to Loki with a concerned look, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Are you sure this dinner date is a good idea?" He just grinned seductively as he brought his lips to mine. I lifted my chin and kissed him back but pulled away slightly and looked at him seriously, "No really Loki, are you sure you feel well enough to go through with this?" He just kept grinning, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Care to find out?" I sighed and rolled my eyes, figuring that if he was well enough to flirt with me, then he was well enough. I smiled at him and put a hand on the back of his head, pulling him towards me. Our lips crashed together as he put a hand on my hip pulling me closer to him and ultimately, putting me on top of him. I felt slightly worried that I was squishing and pulled away momentarily to scan his face. He seemed fine as he wrapped his arms around the small of my back and pulled me down to his lips again. He slid his hands from my back, to my hips and under the t-shirt I was wearing. I gently broke away from his lips and looked at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Not right now, Loki." He looked at me with sad, hurt eyes, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Don't you love me?" I sighed and slid off of him and sat up next to him, gently running a hand over his cheek, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course I do, you know I do Loki. But you have to wait, we can't do it here, not now. Maybe if you're feeling up to it tonight, after dinner." He looked at me with hurt in his eyes before looking away a moment later, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You don't understand how much I need you Jenny." A pang of guilt hit me in the chest with such impact that I actually lost balance. I sighed again and scooted closer to Lokis side, tilting his head towards me again, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I do. I need you too, more than anyone else in the whole world, but you're hurt right now and I need you to get better. I want you back to your normal self, not stuck in a hospital bed for longer than you need to be. I love you too much and it hurts me to see you like this." I sniffed, I was very close to tears when I saw the look on Lokis face, "I know you want be back on your feet and I know you want to run around again, but you aren't fully healed yet. You need time." He wiped away a tear that had freed itself from my eye and fled down my cheek and smiled up at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thank you. You always know what to say and when to say it. I promise that I'll stay in bed and rest for the rest of the day." I gave him a watery smile and whispered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thank you." He gently pulled me towards him and our lips met in a passionate embrace. After a bit we broke apart and I smiled at him, "I had better get going." He gave me a sad half smile and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I wish you could stay." I sighed and placed a quick kiss on his lips, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I do too, but you know I can't babe. Don't worry, I'll see you tonight." He smiled and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Can you meet me here at six and we'll walk up to my room to get ready?" I nodded and smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course." I crawled off the bed and slid my shoes back on, "I'll see you then," I placed a quick kiss on his lips, "I love you. Get some sleep." He grinned and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I will. I love you too." I walked to the door and blew him a kiss, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""See you in a few hours." He blew a kiss back, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Stay beautiful darling." I grinned and replied sarcastically, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No, I'm going to go turn into a frog." He laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""See you later, you sarcastic devil you." I grinned and closed the door behind me./span/p 


	40. Chapter 39

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 39/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"After hanging out with Lyra and Owen for a few hours, 6 o'clock rolled around and it was time for me to meet up with Loki. I turned to Lyra before I left and questioned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""How formal should I go? As in evening gown formal?" She smiled and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, evening gown sounds good. Aim for elegant." I laughed and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh, you know me, always such a lady." We both laughed and I bid them farewell. I jogged down the hall to Lokis hospital room and just as I was about to knock it opened and Loki stood behind it, a sheet draped around him like a toga, looking very pissed off. I covered my mouth and unsuccessfully stifled a giggle. He glared at me and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""They took all my clothes..." I burst out laughing and he just shook his head. I looked up at him and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Couldn't you just magic yourself some clothes?" He shook his head and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No. Well, yes. But using my magic is a big energy drain and I really want to go to dinner tonight." I smiled and hugged him tightly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good. I've managed to knock some sense into your head." He laughed and placed his hands on my shoulders, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Shall we go?" I grinned and nodded. We made the 5 minute walk to Lokis room, without encountering one guard or civilian. We walked into Lokis familiar chambers and I smiled slightly. I took a deep breath and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm going to go take a shower before I get dressed." I felt Lokis arms snake around my hips and he whispered next to my ear, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'll join you." I tilted my head back and received a soft kiss on my lips. I grinned into it and turned around to kiss him fully. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled away to look into his face, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Shower?" He grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Shower." I smiled and hopped away into the bathroom, turning on the hot water and stripping. I slipped into the shower and Loki joined me not two seconds later. I smiled at Loki and grabbed the shampoo bottle, squirting a little into my hands and rubbing them together. I then reached up and rubbed my hands through Lokis hair, making it stick out at different angles and maybe 'styling' it a little. When I stepped back to enjoy my masterpiece I erupted into a fit of giggles and Loki looked at me strangely, "What? What is it? What's so funny?" I laughed harder and managed to say, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""If only... if only you could see your hair right now!" Lokis face turned to shock as he stuck his head out of the shower and examined his hair in the wall length mirror over the sink. I heard him swear and then watched him frantically try to wash the bubbles out of his precious hair. I continued to laugh at him until his hair was returned to mostly normal. He grinned as he took the shampoo from me and put some into his hands, rubbing them together. My eyes widened as he reached for my hair, "Oooh god..." I backed up until I hit the shower wall and he ran his hands through my hair. Once he had finished, I peeked out of the shower to get a glimpse of the damage done. Surprisingly, it didn't look that bad, fairly normal, if not slightly messy. I laughed and Lokis look of triumph turned to disappointment when he saw my reaction. I laughed again and stated, "You're a really bad hairstylist." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ugh. Whatever." I chuckled and rinsed my hair, washed up and shaved my legs, with Lokis help, of course. After I finished my shower, I walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me and went into the closet. I searched the hundreds of dresses in the closet. I settled on a dark blue, sleeveless gown with a white sash just under my breasts, that tied into a perfect bow in the back, and sprinkled with tiny silver gems that looked like stars. I noticed that there was a beauty station in a corner with different kinds of makeup arranged neatly on top of it. I walked over to it and sat down in front of my mirror. Deciding to only put on a small amount of makeup I applied liquid eyeliner, silver eyeshadow, mascara and a small amount of skin toned lipstick. Unsure of what to do with my hair, I just left it down. I walked out of the closet and found Loki dressed in a tight purple silk shirt and slim black dress pants. He turned around and we both stared at each other, mouths slightly agape, awed at the other's appearance. Loki found his words first, "You... you look stunning... I mean, absolutely breathtaking." I smiled and blushed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks. You look incredibly handsome yourself." He smiled shyly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thank you." He paused and looked up at me, "Are you going to do anything with your hair?" I gazed at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I don't know what. Any ideas?" He nodded and pulled the desk chair out in front of him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, have a seat." I smiled and sat down, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Are you any good with hair?" He laughed and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh, please! With hair like mine, I'd have to be!" I laughed and sat still. In a few minutes he was done, I got up and turned around, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You used your magic, didn't you?" He smirked and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." I sighed and rolled my eyes. He laughed and guided me to a mirror. I gasped, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh Loki, it's... It's absolutely gorgeous! I don't know what to say!" I hugged him tightly, he just smiled and hugged me back. He had done my hair into an elaborate and elegant design, with sparkles woven throughout and a piece hanging down on either side of my face. He smiled down at me loving and said softly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're perfect." I smiled and stood on my tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips. We both found some shoes, his, a pair of shining black dress shoes and mine, a pair of dark blue flats with glitter on them. He slipped on a tight black suit coat over his shirt and I grabbed a white shawl. No sooner had I put on my shawl then there was a knock on the door and Owen and Lyra walked in. They both stopped dead in their tracks and their jaws dropped. Loki and I glanced at each other and laughed. We linked arms and walked towards them, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Are you guys ready?" I asked innocently. The pair recovered their senses and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, wow, Jenny you look absolutely gorgeous!" I laughed and gave Lyra a hug, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks! You look stunning yourself!" She was wearing a dark red, flowing gown that trailed behind her as she walked with spaghetti straps and a big flower on the left shoulder. Owen was wearing the standard tuxedo with a red flower in the lapel. Loki spoke up and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well then, shall we go get some food?" We all nodded with various sounds of agreement. We linked arms with our dates and started for the restaurant. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Lyra and Owen had planned for us to go into town and dine at one of the most exclusive restaurants. When we got there, my jaw dropped. It was an older, two storey, victorian looking, red brick building and looked very out of place in line with the shiny, modernised buildings around it. We walked in through the worn wooden door and found the inside decorated extremely elegantly. I gasped and gazed around in complete wonder and shock and awe. Lyra and Owen walked up to the desk and asked about a reservation. I was still spinning in circles, trying to take it all in, Loki laughed and caught me by the shoulders when I was facing him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Careful there, we don't want you falling over now, do we?" I grinned and shook my head, trying to peek around him to get a glimpse of all the decor etc., /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No, but everything is just so beautiful and amazing and wonderful..." He laughed and pressed his lips against mine. I stared into his face and gave him a goofy smile. I heard Lyra call out behind us, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alright you two, come on, we're going to be seated now." Loki turned to her and nodded, taking my hand as we followed the others through the maze of tables and chairs. When we got to our table I was once again awestruck, it was a little private booth that was overlooking the entire restaurant with red velvet cushioned benches and a rectangular oak wood table. Owen and Lyra sat across from each other on the inside of the table and Loki and I sat across from each other on the outside. We started to fill Loki in on what had happened when he was asleep, when a waiter appeared with a bottle of the "best champagne" nestled in a small bucket of ice. We all exchanged glances and shrugged as the waiter opened it and poured us each a glass. Loki held up his glass for a toast and we clinked our glasses together, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""To good health and a speedy recovery for Loki!" Owen said. We all repeated and took a sip of the sweet, bubbly liquid. I smiled and thanked another waiter as he brought us menus. We continued our chat as I passed out the menus and studied the pages. After much discussion and argument we all decided on a dish. Loki called over a young waitress and gave her our orders he handed the menus back to her and she winked at him as she walked away. I growled under my breath and clenched my fists on the tabletop. I glared at the woman as she walked away. Loki glanced at me and smiled warmly as he worked a hand into my clenched fist. I slowly opened it and gently took his hand, smiling at him. He smiled back and brought my hand up to his mouth. Loki suddenly turned to Owen and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Have you seen much of my brother?" Owen cast a glance at me and my eyes widened. I shook my head 'no' and Owen nodded, ever-so-slightly and said,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Not much really. He's been keeping to himself mostly. He was convinced you were dead and I think he still might be." Loki nodded thoughtfully and turned his attention to me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Have you been in contact with my parents at all?" I thought for a moment and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes, a little bit. Your father is feeling much better and your mother is lovely, as always." He laughed and nodded,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""That's good to hear." I smiled and nodded. At that moment our food arrived and we all started eating and passing bits of each other's dishes to one another. We all raved about how amazing the food was and how much we liked the others dish. We laughed and talked and ate and had a wonderful time. After a delicious dessert of white chocolate and raspberry mousse that Loki and I split, it was time to go back home. We split the bill between Loki and Owen and we walked out onto the dark, chilly street. I turned back to look at the restaurant. Warm golden light was pouring out of the tall windows and onto the street and the strings of clear white fairy lights that wound around the ivy climbing up the building, illuminating it and making all the more beautiful. I sighed and smiled as I felt Lokis hand slide around my waist and pull me closer to him, "It's beautiful isn't it." I nodded and leaned my head against his shoulder saying quietly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, it is." He smiled and looked down at me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Almost as beautiful as you." I blushed and laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks." He kissed the top of my head and chuckled quietly, steering me away from the building, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're welcome darling, c'mon we have to catch up with the others." I grinned and took hold of his hand, interlacing our fingers. We walked up to Lyra and Owen who were waiting for us, talking quietly and Loki said, raising an eyebrow, "You guys want a lift back to the palace or are you gonna be a while?" I covered my mouth to stifle a giggle and Owen glanced at Lyra, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I think we might be a while, but thanks for the offer." Lyra said, and Owen nodded in agreement. Owen and Loki exchanged brotherly hugs and Lyra and I embraced. We turned and listened to the men's conversation, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks for coming to dinner, man, we had loads of fun." Loki grinned at Owen and patted him on the back, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No problem, it was our pleasure, the food was delicious!" They both laughed and exchanged a solid handshake. We all said our farewells and Lyra and Owen walked down the street holding hands. I smiled up at Loki, he returned it and put his arm around my waist and not two seconds later, we were back at the palace. We walked down to Lokis chambers and closed the door behind us. I yawned and sat down on the bed, taking down my hair. After a moment of unusual silence, I looked up to find Loki standing in the middle of the room, grinning mischievously. I stared at him blankly and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What?" He kept grinning and replied smoothly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I believe you promised me something." I rolled my eyes and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I didn't promise you anything. I said maybe, if you were feeling well enough." He stepped towards me and took my hands away from my hair and leaned down to kiss me full on the lips. After a moment he pulled back and whispered seductively, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well guess what..." I sighed once more and broke into a grin. I couldn't say I didn't want to have sex with Loki. He grinned back and gently pushed me back onto the bed as I swung my legs onto the bed, he climbed on top of me. He started to kiss my neck hungrily and I gasped slightly, em'God, I have missed him.'/em /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I groaned slightly and pushed Loki away for a moment, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What about my dress, I don't want to ruin it." A smirk crept onto his face and he slid off of me and I sat up, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Take it off if you're so worried about it." Picking up on his plan I rolled my eyes and muttered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Pervert." He chuckled and shook his head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No, I'm not, we're dating and I think it's fair that I get to watch you undress." I scoffed and finished taking down my hair. I put my jewelry on the nightstand and turning my back to Loki, unzipped the dress. I slid out of it, leaving me in only underwear and bra and placed it on the back of a nearby chair. Turning back around to Loki, he whistled and I padded back towards the bed and kissed him once, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Your turn loser." He laughed and rolled off the bed. Bowing, he replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Gladly." In a minute, he was clad in only his boxers, with his clothes strewn all over the room. I shook my head as he jumped back onto the bed and resumed his work. We both let out unrestrained moans of pleasure as we worked off the remaining articles of clothing we were still wearing and eliminated all space between us. He worked his kisses lower down my body to my breasts, I let out a gasp as his lips grazed gently over the most sensitive spots. He teased and kissed me into oblivion, my body went weak as he continued. After a while he collapsed onto the bed beside me, we were both panting heavily and when I looked over at him, he smiled at me and laughed. Turning on to his side and wrapping his arms around me, he said, "I swear I am never going to come close to death ever again. Because I have missed you so much." I laughed and turned into his embrace, kissing him on the lips, for a long time, until I struggled for breath, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You better not. Because you know what?" I paused and he looked at me, "I've missed you too." We both laughed and kissed again. After a while, still wrapped tightly in each others arms, we both fell fast asleep. Both completely satisfied and entirely relieved to have one another back to normal. /span/p 


	41. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

I yawned and stretched. Sitting up slowly I glanced around the room, drinking in the familiar surroundings. The drippy sun was shining weakly through the glass doors, promising a grey day, as I slid out of the bed, careful not to disturb the soundly sleeping Loki. I padded quietly into the bathroom and turning on the shower. As the hot water rolled over my body, I washed my hair and started to sing. I let myself go as I scrubbed down and rinsed off, still singing. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel under my armpits. Walking back into the bedroom, forgetting that Loki was still asleep, I kept singing. After a brief moment I heard a tired groan behind me and turned around,

"Ugh. What time is it?" Loki whined, sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily. I laughed and glanced at the clock,

"About 11:30, lazy bones." Loki suddenly seemed awake and concerned about something,

"11:30?! Oh shit! I have to meet someone at 12!" I looked at him quizzically as he rolled out of the bed and ran into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready. I shrugged and continued into the closet, picking out a pair of jeans a red t shirt and a black zip up jumper. Sliding on a pair of socks and grabbing a comb I brushed out my hair and walked back into the bedroom. I sat down on the bed and picked up a book that was laying on the bedside table. I opened it up to read just as Loki burst out of the bathroom, hair still dripping and a towel wrapped around his waist. I giggled slightly as he rushed into the closet and emerged two minutes later, fully clothed. He walked over to me and kissed me, "I'll be back in a bit, I just have a very important meeting with someone." I nodded slightly skeptically,

"Is this someone a girl?" He laughed and said,

"Yes, but it's not like that." I smiled and nodded,

"Alright, I believe you." He chuckled and kissed me on the lips again,

"I'll see you later darling." I waved as he walked away,

"See ya! Love you!" He waved back,

"Love you too!" He quietly shut the door and I went back to the book. After reading the first few chapters and deciding I didn't like it, I got up and took a walk down to the library. After snooping around for a bit I came across The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I was surprised to find that it wasn't just the four better known novels but also ones like, The Magician's Nephew. I shrugged and took the entire box set with me, knowing it would keep me occupied for a while. I walked up one of the spiral staircases to the glass room and plopped down on one of the plush couches. I switched on the lamp over the couch and listened as raindrops started to fall onto the glass. I smiled as I turned the pages of the first book, remembering the countless times I had read the book as a child. When I was about 3/4 of the way through the book, Loki appeared on the couch by my feet. Without looking I grinned and muttered,

"Stalker." He snorted and replied,

"Fine if you're going to call me names, I guess I won't tell you what I came here for." He started to get up but I wrapped my feet around his arm and pulled him back down. He looked at me and laughed,

"You wanted to tell me something?" He laughed again and said,

"Only if you promise to say yes." I grinned at him and replied,

"No promises." He rolled his eyes and started to explain,

"So that meeting I went to today, it was a planning meeting for a party. A ball to be exact. And I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me?" I gasped and put down my book. I stared at Loki and finally grinned and tackle hugged him,

"Of course I will!" He laughed and shifted me so that I was sitting on his lap. I smiled and kissed him on the lips. He grinned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I gently pulled away and asked, "When is it?" He smiled and said,

"It's two days from now." I grinned wider and clapped my hands together,

"Excellent! Is the whole kingdom invited?" Loki laughed and nodded,

"Yep. It's going to be a huge event!" I was literally ready to explode I was so happy. I hugged Loki again and said quietly,

"Wow, I can't believe it, a real life ball." I pulled back, remembering something and stared at Loki with a worried look on my face,

"Loki, I don't know how to dance!" He laughed and said,

"Well come on, I'll teach you!" I smiled and grabbed the books as we ran back to Lokis room. I dropped by books on the bed as Loki spun me around and dipped me. I laughed and clutched onto his shirt when he pulled me up again. He chuckled and took my hands from his shirt, placing one on his shoulder and one in his own hand. I jumped as a waltz started playing from an unseen source and Loki pulled me closer to him and whispered, "Just follow my lead." I nodded and looked down at my feet, trying not to step on his toes. I grinned and after a while I had caught on and Loki was counting in time with the beat, "One two, three four. One two, three four..." I laughed happily and we danced around the room. I felt so elegant and free, like those ladies you would see in old photographs dancing with handsome men in coat tails and neatly parted hair. The music stopped and I looked up at Loki,

"That was amazing." A grin spread across his face, and he replied,

"You're a fairly good dancer, are you sure you haven't done this before?" I shook my head and said,

"Nope. Never." He laughed and kissed me slowly,

"Well, if you say so." Then he stepped back and rubbed his hands together and said, "How about some food? I'm starving!" I giggled and nodded,

"That sounds great I'm pretty hungry myself!" He grinned and said,

"How about some pie?" He burst into laughter as I groaned and hit my forehead with my hand,

"Oh no, you're not bringing that up again are you?" He continued laughing and I punched him in the arm. He covered his arm with mock pain,

"Ouch, that hurt." He whined. I rolled my eyes and raised a fist,

"I can hit you harder." He grinned and I returned it. We both started giggling and we walked out of his room. I was walking beside him when suddenly he stood in front of me and pulled me onto his back. I squealed and wrapped my arms around his neck as he placed his hands behind my knees, boosting me higher onto his back. I yelled with delight and threw my hands in the air shouting, "Piggyback ride!" He laughed and raced towards the kitchens. When we got there, he finally put me down and we glanced at each other and giggled. I smirked and said, "Did you see the looks we got?" He laughed breathlessly and replied,

"Well maybe if you weren't shouting so loud..." I laughed and pointed at him,

"Hey, that's your fault. You didn't even warn me!" He grinned and shrugged,

"Oh well, too bad for you." He strode into the kitchen and left me standing with my mouth hanging open, shocked at his cockiness. I eventually rolled my eyes and followed after him, sighing. When I found him, he was digging through the fridge for some kind of food. I snorted and went to go gather ingredients for pasta. After whipping up a bowl of shells, I hopped up on one of the tables and took a seat. Watching Loki dig through the fridge was like watching a dog dig through a yard, the contents of the large refrigerator were strewn around him in a complete circle. I give a little chuckle and continue eating as he turns around to face me, "Where'd you get that, then?" I shrugged and said,

"Uh, I made it." He stood up and walked towards me,

"Can I have some?" I shook my head,

"Not until you clean that up." I replied, nodding in the direction of the guts of the fridge flung about the floor. He turned around and slouched, groaning, he said,

"You're so mean." I smirked and replied,

"Yes. I am. Now don't slouch, it's bad for your back."


	42. Chapter 41

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 41/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Baskerville;"em~2 Days Later~/em/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"I ran up to Lyra and cried, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Lyra! Did you hear about the ball tonight?!" Lyra laughed and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Hear about it? The whole kingdom heard about it!" I laughed and gave her a quick hug, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Are you going? I can't wait, I'm so excited!" I said as I bounced up and down on my feet. She laughed and grinned, clapping both her hands on my shoulders, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Jenny. Calm down. It's going to be okay." I took a deep breath and calmed down a little bit,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okay okay. I know, but it's the first ball I've ever been too and the whole kingdom is going to be there and I'm going to make a fool of myself and it's going to be so embarrassing and-" Lyra cut me off, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Jenny. Listen to me, It's. Going. To. Be. Fine." I looked her in the eyes and she smiled. I took another breath and smiled back. She patted me on the shoulders and dropped her hands back to her sides, "Okay, good. Now, I'm glad you showed up in the morning because it's going to take ages to get ready." My eyes widened, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wait, what?! But I can't I have a lunch date with Loki!" She laughed and grabbed my arm, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Not anymore! You two won't be able to see each other until tonight." She paused as I started to object, "Oh, and don't worry about lunch. Owen has got it taken care of. They had some errands to take care of anyways... Now we'll have to find you a gorgeous gown for tonight and we'll..." I sighed and turned out her voice and let her drag me down the corridor to who-knows-where. I wondered if Loki was going through the same thing with Owen. It was probably a lot more laid back than this. My attention snapped back to the real world when I realised Lyra had stopped talking and was looking at me expectantly. I blinked and stuttered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Uh... yeah. Sure." She laughed and shook her head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" I looked down and shook my head. She smiled and said, "Don't worry about Loki, Owen is going through the same thing with him as I am with you. Now, what's your favourite colour?" I smiled and thought of Loki being dragged down a hallway, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Uhm. It's probably blue." Lyra smiled as she opened a door to a room I'd never seen before, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Great. That gives us a wide range to work with. Now, in this room, maids are going to give you a hot bath, a mani/pedi and a small trim off your hair." I started to argue when two women showed up beside me and started to guide Lyra and I through the steamy room, "Don't worry, this is my favourite part of prepping for a ball, the pedicures are wonderful." I just nodded, slightly dumbfounded and allowed myself to be led deeper into the room. Before I could fully wrap my head around things I was sitting in a giant, round tub with flower petals floating on the surface and steam rising from the water. Lyra sat in an identical one next to me, I looked over at her smiled. She grinned and said, "See? This isn't so bad, is it?" I laughed and shook my head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Nope. Not one bit." I smiled, closing my eyes and sinking into the water, leaning my head back against the edge of the tub. After what seemed like much too short of a time, we were handed starched white towels and taken out of the tubs. Feeling clean and refreshed from the bath and a towel wrapped around my head and body we were escorted into a brighter and less steamy part of the room where we were to get our manicures and pedicures. I stole a glance at Lyra and she grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""We'll get our manicures first." I shook my head in amazement, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""How many times have you done this?" She laughed as we sat down beside each other at different stations, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh, loads of times! I've lost count by now." I laughed, astonished, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Are balls really that regular of an occurrence?" Lyra shrugged and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, most of the time. There's usually one every month but since the King hasn't been feeling well, it's been a while." I nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I see. And have you been to all of these balls?" She grinned proudly and nodded again, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yup! Ever since I was about 115 I've been going... that's probably about 15 in Midgardian." I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""That's right! I keep forgetting that I'm not on earth anymore." Lyra gave me a small smile as we turned our attention to the huge selection of colours on a sheet in front of us. My jaw dropped and I looked exasperatedly at Lyra, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Do you have any recommendations?" She smirked and leaned over to look at my sheet, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I suggest that light blue one there and then you can ask for a coat of the silver sparkles on top of that." I smiled and thanked her. I turned to the woman next to me and pointed out a powdery blue and the silver to her and she nodded and went to go get them. I glanced at Lyra's sheet and she was pointing out a mint green with a silver coat as well. When the other woman left I grinned and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Green, huh?" She laughed and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah. I have a dress that I haven't worn in a while and I decided tonight would be a good occasion." I nodded and asked, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Tonight seems like a bigger event than most parties like this, is there something that I missed?" Lyra shook her head quickly and spoke much too fast, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No. Not to my knowledge." I rolled my eyes and shook my head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're the worst liar I've ever met." Just then the maid came back with my nail varnish colours and I glanced at Lyra and smirked, "Saved by the bell. I'll find out later." Lyra rolled her eyes and turned to the woman who was set to be painting her nails. The manicure was lovely. First they massaged our hands with this sweet smelling lotion, then they trimmed our nails and finally painted them. The same with the pedicure. After letting our nails dry, we both sat in a salon chair and got our hair trimmed and styled. By the time we had all that done and we were changed back into our normal clothes and managed to find our way out of the room, nearly 3 and 1/2 hours had passed and there were only 4 hours left until the start of the ball. When Lyra saw what time it was, she panicked, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh no! We still have to get you a dress and do our makeup and everything!" I laughed and placed my hands on her shoulders, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Lyra. Calm down. It's going to be fine." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as I dropped my hands back to my sides. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okay, you're right. But we really need to go find your dress now." I smiled and nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alright, where do we go?" Lyra grinned and took my hand, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I've got the best place!" I laughed as we ran down the hallway, our bare feet smacking on the floor, to another part of the castle I'd never been in. We finally stopped in front of a pair of tall double doors that reached nearly to the top of the tall ceiling. Lyra paused with her hands on the handles and turned to face me, "This is the biggest dress closet in the castle. Prepare to be amazed." I laughed and replied skeptically, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okaay. If you say so." She smirked, turned and threw open the doors dramatically. Stretching before me was the biggest collection of dresses I'd ever seen, ranging, in order, from each end of the colour spectrum and all colours in between. I stood in the doorway, open mouthed, stunned and utterly lost for words. Lyra laughed and pulled me inside the doors, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I told you!" I just looked around in complete awe, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's... it's..." Lyra grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Incredible? Amazing? Fantastic?" I nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's all those things at once. I can't believe it." She laughed again and took my hand, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Come on, we have to find you a dress but we have to go upstairs to the lighter spectrum." I gasped, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What?! There's an upstairs too?!" She giggled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yup. This is just the dark spectrum down here." I gazed around and stared at the rows of dresses splayed out in front of me and shook my head in disbelief. Lyra pulled me towards a small staircase in the corner and walked up it, emerging into another hallway-like closet filled with light coloured dresses. She walked down near the end of the closet and flicked through the hundreds of styles of light blue gowns. After about 20 minutes I recovered and walked down to help her. She sighed exasperated, "Ugh. I can't decide on anything! Maybe you can help. See anything you like?" It took me about 10 minutes to find a stunning, sparkly, powder blue gown that matched my nails. Lyra smiled, "That will look amazing on you! Now come on, let's go back to my room. We have a little bit of time to relax before we have to get ready." I smiled and nodded, taking the gown with me and following Lyra back to her room. /span/p 


	43. Chapter 42

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 42/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"After watching an episode of our favourite TV show (Supernatural) to take our minds off the ball for a little bit, we still had about 20 minutes to kill. So we sat and talked about Supernatural and who we thought was our favourite character. I said Castiel, she said Sam. We argued for a bit until we both decided that Bobby was obviously the favourite of everyone. Our argument lasted so long that we had wasted half an hour. When Lyra looked at the clock she panicked, it was 6:30 and the ball started at 8. I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Lyra calm down! We still have an hour and a half left! It's not gonna take us that long to get ready is it?" She looked at me, eyes wide, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah it is! We have to get dressed and put on makeup and fix our hair again an-" I held up a finger, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alright, alright. I get it," I said laughing, "So let's start getting into our gowns." Lyra shook her head, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okay. But first I have to find you that extra petticoat I have." I nodded slightly as she ran into her closet, "Be right back!" She was gone 3 minutes when she emerged from the closet carrying two massive petticoats so that she looked like a giant ball of white fluff with legs. I bit down on my lip to keep a laugh escaping. She flopped face down on the bed and pushed back up, leaving the petticoats on the bed. I stared at her and she grinned, throwing one of the fluffy objects at me, "Put that on, it should fit you." I sighed and took off my pants, sliding the poofy skirt up over my waist to have it rest snugly just over my belly button. Lyra walked over to me and smoothed it out, checking the length and making sure that everything fit properly. When it was situated to her satisfaction, she put hers on and smoothed it out as well. We looked at each other and laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I feel like a giant marshmallow!" I laughed. Lyra looked at me strangely. And I stared at her in disbelief, "What?! You don't have marshmallows here?! Ugh. I'll have to get you one if we're ever allowed to make a trip to earth sometime." Lyra's eyes widened, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wow, really?" I shrugged, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, why not?" She ran over to me and hugged me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're amazing!" I laughed and hugged her back, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks! You're pretty amazing yourself. I never would have known I had to do any of this to go to a ball without you." She stepped back and laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, you're right! And we're still not even close to being ready yet. C'mon let's get your gown on!" I smiled as she grabbed the dress off the bed and slid it carefully over my head. It felt fairly loose and I looked down at it,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Isn't it supposed to be tighter?" Lyra laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes, I haven't laced up the back yet. Turn around." I spun around so that my back was facing her, "Okay, now this is the hardest part. You might want to find something sturdy to hold onto." I whipped my head around to look at her, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""What?! Why?" She giggled and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Because I have to lace it up really tightly so your dress doesn't fall off and looks good." I shook my head and smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okay. If you say so." Walking over to the table and holding on for dear life, I felt Lyra begin to tug on the back of my dress. The tighter I held on, the harder she pulled, making her way up my back. Just as I thought I was going to let go, she stopped. Just below the ends of my shoulder blades. I exhaled a deep breath and found that the gown was now very tight, "Oh god. Finally." I breathed thankfully. Standing up straight and arranging the thick straps that rested just where my collarbone met my shoulder. Turning around to face Lyra her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh wow," She breathed, "You look incredible!" I looked down and smoothed out my skirts, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks." I replied modestly. She smiled and pulled her dress out of the closet, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""My turn!" She cried eagerly, "Luckily for you, you only have to zip up my gown!" I laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh thank god! I don't think I could manage the ribbon!" She giggled and I helped her slide her minty green gown over her head. After arranging it comfortably (as possible) I zipped up the dress, the zipper stopping at a 'V' in the middle of her back. She turned around and I gasped, "Wow. You look so gorgeous!" She grinned and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks! Now for the makeup!" I groaned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Do I have to?" She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes of course!" Pulling me over to a fairly large desk with a big mirror in front of it and makeup spread all over it. I sighed and pulled up one of the two chairs, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okay, fine. I'll put on a little makeup. But only a little." Lyra smiled and sat down next to me, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""If you say so, your loss." I rolled my eyes and picked up a palette of blue eye shadows. I chose a light sparkly blue and applied a small amount to my eyelids, fanning it out so it was just noticeable. Then I put on liquid eyeliner on top and bottom, curling that out, slightly, at the corner of my eyes. Then I put on a tiny amount of mascara and a light pink blush. At Lyra's request finally adding some light pink lipstick. While waiting for Lyra to finish her makeup I started to fix my hair. Doing two French braids along the sides of my head and twisting them together into a large bun on top of my head. Nodding at my handiwork I glanced over at Lyra who had finally finished her makeup and was putting some final touches on her hair. She looked over at me when she was done and smiled, "Shoes?" I grinned, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Shoes." We stood up and walked into her closet and each found pairs of light blue and green flats. We slid them on and took a deep breath, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Done." We said in unison. We looked at each other and laughed. I walked out of the closet and glanced at the clock, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Oh no! Lyra hurry, we've got 5 minutes to get there!" Lyra ran out of the closet grinning like crazy and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well come on then!" I shrugged and returned the grin as we clasped hands and ran out of the room as fast as we could, holding up our skirts so we didn't trip. Lyra slowed to a walk as we turned down a smaller hallway and stopped in front of a small pair of open doors that lead into a large room with a few people bustling about, "This is where I leave you." I turned to her, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wait, what?! Why? Where are you going?" She smiled and put a hand on my shoulder, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Don't worry, I'm just going down to the ballroom. You have to enter from up here in 2 minutes." I looked at her quizzically, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But why can't you?" She laughed and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Because I'm neither royalty or in a relationship with a prince." I grinned and glanced at her, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But you'll be in the ballroom right?" She nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yup, I'll be right at the bottom of the stairs." I took a deep breath and forced a smile, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Okay, I'll see you in a minute then." She gave me a quick hug and ran back down the hallway, throwing me a wave. I waved back and the smile fell from my face as I turned and was pulled into the large, airy room by a maid who was now fussing with my dress and smoothing out my skirts. When she had finished she smiled at me and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alright, all you have to do is walk through that curtain there and you'll know what to do." I smiled and thanked her, turning towards the heavy, red velvet curtain. I could hear the sounds of many people laughing and talking over the sweet music wafting from the ballroom. I took deep breath and stepped forward as the curtain pulled back to reveal the biggest room I had ever seen. I gazed around and saw a giant crystal chandelier hanging from the massively tall ceilings and the wide room was absolutely filled with hundreds of people laughing and talking. I blinked a few times and looked at the two, wide, marble staircases curving down to the ballroom from the overlooking balcony I was currently standing on. I took several deep breaths before stepping onto the balcony and choosing the staircase on my right. I grabbed the railing with one hand and my skirts with the other and focused on not running down the stairs and out of the room. I heard everyone in the room go quiet and turn to look at me. A few whispers circulated between the people, just quiet enough so that I couldn't hear them. I sucked in a breath and looked around at the people. They were smiling warmly and pointing at me. I frantically searched the room for a face that I knew and found Owen gaping at me. I smiled and descended slowly down the stairs. When I got to the bottom the chatter generally increased to its normal volume again and I walked over to Owen. Spinning around once I asked,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""How do I look?" Owen just stared and finally found the words to say, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You look... look... amazing. No, that doesn't do justice, incredible? Fantastic? Gorgeous? Nope. None of that comes even close to how you look. There are no words." I laughed and blushed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks Owen. You look pretty snazzy yourself." He smiled, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks. But I'm going to go find Lyra and leave you to your man." I looked at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But Loki's not-" I jumped and whipped my head around as I felt a hand on my waist. Loki smiled at Owen as Owen gave a small bow to Loki and a wide smile to me. I returned Owens smile and turned to Loki and gave him a tight hug, "I've missed you so much!" He laughed, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I've only been gone for a few hours." I stepped back and said, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I know but it feels like it's been ages." Loki looked me up and down and stared, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You look absolutely astonishing." He breathed. I blushed and was about to thank him when I felt his lips connect with mine. I smiled into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled away and I looked up at him and he smiled, "It's probably not the right place is it?" I giggled and shook my head. He took a step back and bowed as the music started playing. He held out his hand and said, "May I have this dance, my lady." I giggled and replied, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You may, of course." I placed my hand into his as he pulled me onto the dance floor and put one hand on my waist and rearranged our hands. I stepped closer to him and rested a hand on his shoulder, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Remember what we practiced?" I grinned and rolled my eyes, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course I do." Loki chuckled as we started to dance./span/p 


	44. Chapter 43

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 43/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"As Loki and I danced, couples young and old came to us and introduced themselves and gave out many kind compliments on the party and, 'The prince's choice of lady.' I smiled gratefully and nodded in thanks at everyone who came by to compliment me on my dress or my hair or how well Loki and I were matched. Loki went through two dances with me until he was called away by one of the servants on account of his father. Odin had been doing much better lately and was out of bed and attending the ball tonight. Loki gave me a quick kiss and reluctantly followed the servant away. I sighed and headed for the refreshment table to get a drink. Everyone was acting very strangely, like they knew something I didn't. I shook my head and picked up a flute of champagne, savouring the sweet taste it possessed. I looked around the room and smiled at all the couples dancing gracefully. I had drunk half the glass of the sweet wine when I heard Thor's voice across the room call my name. I sighed and downed the rest of the glass and forced a smile on my face as he came nearer. At the sight of his over excited expression my fake smile soon turned into a real one and I was grinning as he embraced me tightly./span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Jenny, you look absolutely wonderful! Isn't this just an amazing ball, I just love it! How have you been? I haven't seen you in so long!" I laughed and held my hands up,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Woah, woah, woah. Thor, slow down. I'm good. The ball is absolutely incredible! How are you doing?" Thor smiled and replied,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I am better than ever!" He paused as the woman beside him slid her arm into his and smiled up at him. Thor smiled back and turned to me, "Oh! I almost forgot, this is Sif, my girlfriend." I smiled at her and held out my hand for a handshake, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's an honour to meet you." She glared at me and forced a small smile as Thor looked down at her. Though she didn't accept my handshake. I shrugged it off and let my hand drop back to my side. I looked up at Thor and he looked around,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Have you seen Owen and Lyra around?" I raised my eyebrows, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wait, you know them? How?" Thor laughed and replied,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of course I know them, they were some of my best childhood friends!" I nodded and said,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Makes sense. In answer to your question, I saw Owen a while ago, he said he was going to look for Lyra and I haven't seen him since." Thor nodded thoughtfully,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""And Lyra?" I shook my head,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Haven't seen her." Thor looked around worriedly. I put a reassuring hand on his arm and said, "I'm sure they're around here somewhere." Thor smiled at me and nodded,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm sure you're right." Sif sent me a death glare and pulled him away,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Come on Thor, we should go look for them." Thor looked at Sif and nodded,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alright, love, good idea. Let's go." Sif turned and grabbed his hand, dragging him away. Thor turned back over his shoulder and waved, "I'll see you later Jenny!" I smiled and waved back,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Bye Thor!" Sif looped her arm back into the crook in his elbow and turned her head to glare at me. I sighed and looked down. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Geez, she doesn't seem very nice." I grinned and turned around. Lyra was standing behind me, offering me a drink. I sighed and sent her an appreciative smile, taking the glass of champagne. I took a sip and looked at her questioningly, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You listened to that entire conversation, didn't you?" She grinned and took a sip of her drink. I laughed and rolled my eyes, "Really? You're so bad. They're going to be looking for you, now." She shrugged,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I wanted to talk to you, and I figured it'd buy me some time. They'll find Owen in about 10 minutes." I smiled at her,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You're such a bad person, I love it." She laughed and we clinked glasses. After taking another sip of me drink, I looked at her, "So, you wanted to talk to me?" She nodded and said,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yeah, I wanted to tell you, just to be careful around some of these guys." I looked at her quizzically, "If they ask you to dance, I mean. Loki has the tendency to get a little jealous." I snorted and rolled my eyes, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I noticed, but if he has that quality, I want him to get over it." I paused and grinned, "It's totally a turn off." We both laughed and downed the rest of our champagne. /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Good, I think you're a good match for him." I smiled and thanked her. My smiled dropped and my eyes widened as I nodded behind her. Her brows furrowed and she turned around, Thor and Sif were walking towards us. She laughed and gave me a pat on the shoulder, "Go on, get out of here. Go have some fun." I grinned and gave her a quick hug,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thanks Lyra, I'll see you later, okay?" She nodded,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Alrighty, I'll catch up with you later!" She waved as I turned and walked away. I blended into the crowd of people and wandered around for a bit. Pretty soon, a man walked up to me and offered me his hand for a dance, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""May I have the honour, my lady?" I smiled and placed my hand in his. We walked out onto the dance floor and started to dance as the band struck up a waltz. I smiled up at him as we danced gracefully around the room,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""May I ask your name?" He grinned and answered,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""My name is Tobias," he paused, "and, of course, you need no introduction. The lone Midgardian." I laughed and shook my head,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""You make it sound so important. I'm really just here because I was rescued and I grew to love it here." At that, he raised an eyebrow questioningly. I sighed and said, "It's a long story. Let's just say that if Loki didn't save me when he did, I wouldn't be here." Tobias nodded slowly,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, that would have been a terrible loss." I smiled and blushed. Then the music stopped playing and Odin appeared on the balcony,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ladies and Gentlemen of Asgard, I am pleased to see how many of you have attended this celebration tonight…" I turned to Tobias and whispered,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Celebration? What celebration?" His eyes widened and he whispered back, astonished, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Wait, you don't know?" I shook my head in slight bewilderment,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""No, know what?" He grinned and laughed quietly. Still, grinning, he whispered back,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I don't think I'm at liberty to tell you." I rolled my eyes and sighed,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Fine then." He chuckled quietly and turned back to Odin, saying quietly,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It looks like you're about to find out, though." I was about to reply when I heard Odin say,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Lady Jenny Oscars, could you come up here, please?" I looked at Tobias confused and he shrugged. I sighed and made my way up to the balcony. When I got up there, Odin smiled warmly at me and gave me a tight hug, "You look wonderful tonight, Jenny." I smiled at him and replied,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Thank you. It's great to see you walking around again." He smiled and took my hand in his, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'm so happy for you." I looked at him quizzically,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I still don't understand what's happening, no one's told me anything!" He just looked at me and laughed. I sighed and was about to question why I was up here when Loki and Frigga appeared from behind the velvet curtain, I smiled at Frigga and gave her a tight hug, "It's so good to see you! It feels like an age!" She smiled and replied,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""It's excellent to see you too! I've missed you!" I smiled and turned and whispered to Loki as Odin made a speech about his absence./span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki, why am I up here? What are you planning?" He just gave me a half smile and slid his hand into mine,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Shh, my father's making a speech." Even as he said that, there was definitely a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I tuned out Odins talking and stared out over the crowd of people. I met Lyras eyes and mouthed, 'What am I doing here?' She shrugged and mouthed back, 'I don't know.' I sighed again, I knew she knew something. Suddenly, I had realised that Odin had stopped talking and was stepping back from the platform to let Thor make a speech, Sif standing beside him. I blinked, em'When did Thor get here?'/em I thought. Shrugging, I leaned over to Loki and whispered, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Sif doesn't seem to like me very much, is there a reason behind that?" Loki sighed and nodded slightly,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I'd say she's jealous." I looked at him, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Of who, me?" He nodded, /span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Afraid so. She's always liked Thor and she's convinced that you are some kind of competition." I snorted and shook my head,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Well, I guess I'll just have to clear that up with her, then." Loki chuckled and nodded,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I guess you will." We both giggled and waved at Sif as she turned around and glared at us. She just scoffed and turned her nose up at us as she turned back around. Loki and I both stifled laughs as Thor finished up his speech. Then it was time for Loki to make his speech. Thor clapped Loki on the back as he walked up to the short railing preventing us from falling off the high balcony. As Loki made speech, he introduced me and took up about 10 minutes talking about me. I nudged him and he shook his head, "Right, sorry, I'm just so infatuated…" A few people chuckled, I remembered that Loki wasn't very well liked. I smiled and he continued his speech by thanking everyone for coming and about how he was so happy that everyone was able to attend. Then he paused for a moment and turned to me, "Jenny," I turned to look him,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes, Loki?" He took a deep breath,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Ever since the first moment I laid eyes on you, I fell in love with you. I know that sometimes I've been selfish or mean or annoying or um… you know, dead." I giggled,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Loki, where is this going?" He took my hands in his and continued,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""But, I just want you to know, that every time I've done those things, I've regretted them. Every time, I've done anything to hurt you, I would do everything and anything to take it back. Every time I've disappeared or left you, I'm sorry. Every time I wasn't there right by your side, to protect you, to support you, to love you, I wish to the gods that I was. I wish that I could turn back time and be with you every minute that was possible and every one that wasn't…" By this time I had tears running down my cheeks and was eternally thankful that Lyra made me wear waterproof makeup. Loki looked me right in the eyes and wiped the tears off my cheeks. Getting down on one knee, he pulled a small box out of his pocket and in it was a beautiful gold band with an emerald in the middle and two diamonds on either side. I gasped as he took my hands in his, "Jenny, I want you to know that I will always love you and I will be there for you as much as it is in my power to do so. I will be there for you even when you think I've gone. I love more than words or actions can define, so, if you'll have me, I'll be yours. Jenny Oscars, will you marry me?" I let out a choked laugh and said,/span/p  
p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Baskerville; color: #222222;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""Yes. Yes, of course, Loki!" He gave me a genuine smile and slid the ring on my finger. Standing up he put a hand on my cheek and placed a deep, passionate kiss on my lips./span/p 


End file.
